The Raccoon and the Tigress (Continuation)

by imerik001

After encountering Sly disguised at Rajan's palace while undercover and sharing a rather delightful dance...Neyla develops feeling for the raccoon and decides to help and join his team. Though Bentley and Murray are wary of the unexpected newcomer...there is only on question on their mind...can Neyla be trusted to be part of their team?

27. Epilogue

.Disclaimer: I do not own Sly Cooper or any of its characters, except my OC character

A/N: Hello everyone, here is the final chapter to the TRATT: where Sly and his team get Bentley to a hospital after defeating Clock-Lita and putting an end to Clockwerk...but the aftermath will create a huge rift between Murray and his friends. Plus...while they and their friends keep a low profile, the raccoon and tigress decide to spend some 'quality time' together.

Warning: Rated M for lemon scene!

Reviews and comments will be appreciated.

Chapter 27: Epilogue

Thanks to Jack allowing them to escape, due to his friendship with Neyla and the respect he held towards Sly and his gang's methods in bringing down high level international criminals, the raccoon and his friends had ran through the empty alleyways/streets of Paris with Murray carrying a semi-conscious Bentley in his arms before stopping to take a short rest. He, Neyla and Murray had been running as fast as their legs could carry them while cautiously glancing up and down the corners of the alleys, making sure they didn't draw any unwanted attention from any cops patrolling the streets or street thugs, marking them as easy targets to mug.

"Guys, we need to get Bentley to a hospital, fast!" The hippo cried as he held his crippled and barely conscious friend/teammate in his arms...as he continued to blame himself for not bothering to hold Clock-Lita's upper beak up like he should've, which would've prevented the turtle from losing both his legs.

"We know big guy...but we can't risk taking him to an actual hospital. The security guards would recognize us right away, along with the nurses and doctors." His raccoon friend and leader stated, showing he agreed that they needed to take Bentley to a hospital...but pointed out that they would be recognized through their wanted posters and they no longer had their fake ID's to avoid being caught by the security guards working at whatever hospital they went to.

"Well...I'm afraid that's a risk we need to take my love, because we don't have that many options." Neyla stated softly while placing a sympathetic hand on her lover's shoulder, informing him that they needed to risk taking Bentley to a hospital other his condition would only get worse.

"I know that my beautiful tigress...I just can't think of any hospitals we can take Bentley so he can get the medical care he needs, let alone pay for it." Sly replied while turning to his feline lover, showing he completely agreed with her and Murray that getting their friend/teammate to a hospital was their top priority...but was also worried they would be recognized by the hospital staff, especially the security guards and revealed they had no way of paying for Bentley's stay at whatever hospital they went to: as all the loot they pick-pocketed off the guards working the Klaww Gang was lost when Clock-Lita destroyed their safe house.

"There is one hospital I can think of that may work...and its not to far from where we are." The tigress stated, informing her raccoon lover and hippo friend that she knew of a hospital they could take Bentley, much to their deep surprise and delight!

"What hospital do you have in mind?" The raccoon asked, as he and Murray were relieved that Neyla knew a hospital where they could get their crippled and paralyzed turtle friend the medical care he needed!

"The American Hospital of Paris: it's located on 63 Blvd Victor Hugo. They have one of the best surgical teams in the entire city...and my apartment isn't too far from our current position." She answered, revealing the name of the hospital to her lover and hippo friend while claiming they had the best team of surgeons working there...and revealing her own personal apartment was nearby, which was perfect for them to lay low as long as they needed until Interpol and French police had called called the search parties looking for them!

"That's great Neyla! How far this hospital?" Sly stated as he and Murray had huge grins on their faces: due to learning there was a hospital that had the best surgical team in the entire city of Paris and more importantly...how his tigress lover's personal apartment was not too far, which meant they had a place to stay and keep a low profile!

"It's not that far my love. If we keep going down this alleyway and make a right...we should find a road sign that'll point us right towards it." His feline lover answered truthfully, stating that if they continued running down the alley and making a right after reaching the end, they would find a road sign that would help direct them right towards the hospital!

"Yeah...but how are we going to pay for it? Sly just said we're broke!" The hippo stated while nodding in agreement, showing he was overjoyed to hear the name of the hospital that could help Bentley...but pointed out how they had no way of paying for Bentley's stay at the hospital!

"...That's not entirely true Murray." Neyla countered with a sly grin, which surprised her raccoon and hippo friend by stating they weren't completely broke!

"You managed to save something before bailing out of the safe house?" The raccoon asked with a small grin, showing he was proud of his feline lover for managing to salvage some of their loot before exiting the hideout while he paraglided his way to Clock-Lita and confronted the robotic owl/vixen hybrid after landing on her left wing.

"What did you save?" Murray asked, as he was greatly surprised to hear that his tigress friend and teammate had managed to save some of the loot she and Sly pick pocketed off the idiot guards working for the Klaww Gang before bailing out of their destroyed hide out!

"Uh uh, that's a surprise." The tigress playfully answered, stating that what she salvaged from their safe house was a secret and by the she answered, both Sly and Murray fairly guessed it had to have been very valuable: meaning it would cover for Bentley's medical expenses once they got him to the hospital!

Without wasting further time, especially since they heard their unconscious and paralyzed friend whimper in pain, as tear drops were slowly building and sliding down his cheeks: indicating he was suffering from intense pain to his severed spine cord, Sly and his friends had broke into a fast run, sprinting for 63 Blvd Victor Hugo with Neyla pointing them in the right direction. After running for what felt like ten-fifteen minutes as far their legs could carry them...the raccoon and his friends had came to a quick stop, as they arrived to their main destination: 63 Blvd Victor Hugo and gasped softly at the mere sight of the American Hospital of Paris.

"I don't believe it...we actually made it!" Murray cried out while cradling Bentley in his arms, overjoyed that he and his friend's had arrived at the hospital that could hopefully treat their unconscious and crippled friend's injuries to his spine.

"Yeah we did, big guy." Sly stated with a warm smile, showing he was just as relieved as his hippo friend that they had found and arrived at the hospital, alongside his tigress.

"Just remember you and Murray need to keep a low profile once we step inside, Ringtail. The last thing we need is to be thrown out before we can get Bentley admitted." Neyla stated while reminding her lover and hippo friend they needed to avoid drawing any attention to themselves the second they stepped inside the hospital: as this hospital was Bentley's only chance to get the proper and professional care he needed to recover.

Knowing that the tigress was correct: as they didn't have the energy to fight their way out if the hospital staff or security guards recognized them, the raccoon and hippo nodded in agreement and decided to follow Neyla's lead, as she clearly knew the layout of the hospital better and more importantly...was thinking more clearly than them due to their concern for Bentley's condition before stepping through the automatic slide-in doors. Once inside the hospital, Sly and his feline lover had walked up towards the nurse's station in the main lobby and were extremely fortunate that there was a receptionist on duty!

"Excuse us, ma'am! We need a doctor!" Neyla cried out in French, informing the receptionist behind the desk: a female European Hare that their friend and teammate needed medical help!

"My word! What in the world happened?" The female clerk cried out, as she was completely shocked by the sight of the cripple turtle...and frowned after seeing how much pain he was in as he shivered/whimpered in pain while Sly and Murray attempted to soothe and comfort him.

"Shh, Bentley you'll be okay buddy. We made it to a hospital...the doctor's will take care of you." The raccoon stated softly while holding his unconscious friend's free hand in his own, informing him they had arrived at a hospital and the doctor's would soon tend to his wounds: more importantly his back.

"There was a traffic accident and our friend was horribly injured. He can't walk." The tigress answered before turning to Bentley with a saddened look on her face, especially after seeing how much he was suffering from the pain he felt to his severely injured spinal cord.

"Please, our friend really needs a doctor." Murray stated softly while attempting to hold back the tears building in his bloodshot eyes, begging the desk clerk to call for a doctor to operate on his unconscious and paralyzed friend/teammate and fortunately for them, the receptionist did just that after giving them a gentle nod.

"Paging Dr. Brodeur. Please come to the main lobby immediately: we have an accident victim with severe spinal injuries who needs medical attention right away." She stated through the hospital intercom system, requesting for a doctor named 'Brodeur' to come to the main lobby and luckily for Sly and his friends, the receptionist believed Neyla's lie about Bentley being in a 'traffic accident'...even though they would be forever tormented by what truly happened.

After waiting patiently for four-five minutes, a European badger, no doubting the doctor had entered the main lobby/waiting room along with a female roe deer, obviously a nurse rolling in a gurney right beside him..and were both deeply shocked by the sight of Bentley, drifting in/out of consciousness and whimpering in pain as he felt another jolt of pain coursing throughout his crippled body.

"My word..." The nurse stated softly while feeling deep sympathy for the turtle, as she could see how much excruciating pain he was in and more importantly, how much his friends were hurting; especially Murray due to the state Bentley was currently in due to Clock-Lita's beak collapsing on him after removing the Hate Chip from her maw.

"Are you...Dr. Brodeur?" Sly asked softly, as he, Neyla and Murray needed to be sure that he was the doctor the clerk contacted through the intercom.

"Yes, I'm Dr. Louis Brodeur. This man...is he a friend of your's?" The badger answered in English/French accent, introducing himself to the raccoon and his friends while asking the nature of their relationship with Bentley.

"Yes...His name is Bentley and he's more than just our friend...he's our foster brother." Murray answered softly while stating that the turtle wasn't just his and Sly's friend: he was also their brother.

"May I ask how this happened to your friend? What were the circumstances to his injuries?" The French doctor asked, showing he was curious to how Bentley sustained the injuries that caused him to be paralyzed from the waist down.

"My boyfriend, friends and I are tourists from America. We were merely taking in the sights until we were blindsided by this idiot driver who wasn't paying attention to the road. He bulldozed right into us. We weren't that injured...but Bentley wasn't lucky. He was screaming in pain, saying he couldn't move his legs." Neyla answered half truthfully while selling the most believable cover story: stating that she, her raccoon lover and friends were simply 'tourists' admiring the city of Paris and how Bentley's injuries were from a horrible 'car accident' caused by some idiot not bothering to pay attention while driving and fortunately for the tigress and her friends...Dr. Brodeur had believed their story, along with the nurse.

"Please, help our friend." Sly stated softly, asking the doctor and nurse to take of Bentley as he, Neyla and Murray couldn't bare to see him suffer in agonizing pain from his severely injured spine any further.

"Place your friend on the gurney. Alice, after you take him to the operating room: have the rest of our team prepped and informed that we have a patient with a severed spine on our hands. I'll meet you there to perform the surgery shortly." Dr. Brodeur stated simply, instructing Murray to place his injured/paralyzed friend on the gurney before turning to his nurse, Alice: instructing her to take Bentley to the operating room and to debrief the rest of their surgical team about the injuries to his back while preparing him for surgery.

"Of course Doctor." The female nurse, Alice answered while nodding: showing she understood her orders and would be waiting for him, alongside the rest of their team to begin the operation.

"Your friend is in good hands. My team and I will take good care of him." She added softly after Murray placed Bentley as gently as he could on the gurney while placing a comforting hand over his, reassuring the guilt ridden hippo that his turtle friend would be alright and was in professional care.

"Thank you nurse...?" Murray stated softly with a warm smile, showing he deeply appreciated her compassionate and comforting words and asked for her last name.

"Granger. But please...you and your friends can simply call me Alice." The nurse answered kindly, revealing her last name to Sly and his friends and stated they could simply call her by her first name: Alice.

"Thank you Nurse Gran...Alice." Neyla stated softly as she, her raccoon lover and hippo friend had shook Alice's hand, showing they appreciated her kindness before she rolled Bentley away to the operating room to prepare him for the surgery.

"Are the three of you injured as well?" Dr. Brodeur asked softly, as he and Alice had noticed the bruises that Sly and his friends had to their legs, arms/hands, torsos and faces and naturally assumed they obtained the minor injuries from the 'car accident'.

"No, we weren't that injured from the accident. My girlfriend, friend and I will be alright." The raccoon answered, reassuring the badger that he, his tigress and hippo friend would recover from their minor cuts/scrapes and that they didn't require medical attention.

"Would it be alright for us to stay here for the night, doctor? We don't want to leave Bentley here alone." Murray asked softly, hoping that Dr. Brodeur would allow him, Sly and Neyla to remain at the hospital as they didn't want to leave their turtle friend alone by himself...and would be stunned by his answer.

"I'm truly sorry...but I'm afraid that won't be possible. The only people that are permitted to stay are family members." The head surgeon answered sympathetically, showing he truly understood and respected their reasons for wanting to stay, as they didn't want Bentley waking up in his hospital room alone...but sadly couldn't grant their request, due to them not being the turtle's actual family!

"Are you kidding?! The four of us are the closest thing to a family we've got!" The hippo screamed out at the top of his lungs in deep ire, not believing the hospital wouldn't permit them to stay simply because they weren't actually related to each other!

To say that Sly and Neyla were deeply surprised by the level of anger they detected in Murray's voice was an understatement...as they nervously glanced back to Dr. Brodeur and could tell that he was dangerously close to ordering the receptionist to call for Security: to have them physically thrown out of the hospital by the equally angered look he had after their hippo friend screamed in his face!

"Doctor please, forgive our friend. He was just shocked that we couldn't spend the night here!" The tigress immediately stated, apologizing to the doctor for Murray shouting right in his face: claiming he was simply frustrated that they couldn't remain at the hospital as she and her lover stood between him and their hippo friend in order to stop him from getting hands on with the badger!

"Murray...calm down." The raccoon muttered softly, ordering his friend and teammate to get his anger under control before the desk clerk had picked up the phone and called in both the security guards and police on them.

"...I...I...I'm sorry for yelling doctor." The hippo stated while taking in deep breathes, attempting to calm himself down like his raccoon friend and leader asked and was able to bring himself to apologize to Dr. Brodeur for screaming in his face.

"It's quite alright, I understand. I'd like nothing more to allow you and your friends to stay the night, but it's strictly against protocol and only family members are allowed to stay." The head surgeon stated softly as he accepted Murray's apology and showed he understood his misplaced anger, claiming if he could permit the hippo, raccoon and tigress to stay the night in the waiting room/lobby he would...but had to follow hospital protocol and could only grant actual family members to stay if a loved one was about to be operated on.

"Doctor, it's alright. We understand. I have an apartment that's not to far from the hospital. You can reach us there." Neyla replied kindly for her raccoon and hippo friend, showing they understood that he had to follow hospital protocol and offered him a small piece of paper that had the address of her apartment and personal cell phone number, which he gladly accepted and handed to the desk clerk.

"We'll do our best to repair the damages to your friend's back. We'll keep you and your friends informed at all times." The European badger stated softly, reassuring the tigress and her friends that he and his surgical team would do their best to repair Bentley's severed spine and cure him of the immense pain he was in.

"Thank you doctor. Have a good night." Sly stated softly, thanking Dr. Brodeur for his kind words as he, Neyla and Murray shook the badger's hand before stepping out of the hospital.

"So Neyla, which direction is your apartment?" The raccoon asked softly while turning to his tigress, as he and Murray had no idea where his lover's apartment building was located.

"It's not that far, handsome. It's eight miles away from Interpol HQ. If we stick to the shadows and rooftops, we can get there in no time." Neyla answered softly, informing her raccoon lover and hippo friend that her apartment building was eight miles away from Interpol HQ and stated how they could get to her apartment much quicker by scaling/climbing over the rooftops.

"...You guys go on ahead. I'm going for a walk." Murray stated in a emotionless tone, telling his raccoon and tigress friends to go on without him and how he would be strolling through the empty city streets/alleys!

"Wha...Murray you can't be serious!" Sly stated as he and his feline lover looked at him with deeply surprised/baffled looks after hearing him say he was going for a walk!

"Murray, come on. It's already past midnight, Interpol is still searching for us and we just dropped Bentley off here at the hospital. The last thing Sly and I need is for something to happen to you." Neyla added after her lover while reminding their hippo friend that it was too dangerous for them to be out in the open and the last thing they needed, especially Bentley: was for something happen to him while he was wondering around Paris by himself at night.

"...I...I...I just...really need some time by myself, alone." The hippo stated, begging his friends to allow him to blow off some steam with a strained voice...and they both looked at him with saddened/sympathetic looks: as they already knew Murray had been beating himself up for not being fast enough to catch Clock-Lita's upper beak in time...which would've prevented Bentley from becoming paraplegic.

"...Okay, big guy...Okay. Just promise to stay safe." His friend and leader stated softly, granting his request for time alone and asked him to stay safe: as he couldn't bare the thought of losing his second childhood best friend and foster brother.

"I'll be alright Sly. I'll...I'll meet you and Neyla back at the hospital in the morning." Murray replied, reassuring his friend/leader that he would be alright and would meet him and the tigress back at the hospital tomorrow morning before walking away.

"Sly...are you sure this is a smart thing to do?" Neyla asked softly while turning to her lover, as they sadly watched their hippo friend walk away instead of insisting that he come with them to her apartment like they should've.

"No...but right now, he needs his space and time alone. I'm just hoping I won't regret this." The raccoon answered truthfully, admitting that letting Murray go off on his own, especially as he was plagued by intense guilt for Bentley becoming paralyzed from the waist down was not a wise decision...but knew that his friend really needed his space and an outlet to take his anguish out on...and prayed that he wouldn't regret letting the hippo walk away, alongside his feline lover as they were deeply concerned for his mental state.

As their hippo friend had continued to walk away until he was out of their sight, Sly and Neyla had climbed up the first street light they had spotted, jumped and landed safely on the roof an apartment building. After sprinting and jumping across the rooftops for four miles with Neyla leading the way, the two lover had a made a quick stop to admire how peaceful and quiet the city of Paris was and were pleased with themselves as they had finally put an end to both Clockwerk and Carmelita: as the robotic owl and corrupt vixen could never harm them or their future children ever again...but were deeply saddened that their goal to destroy the Clockwerk Parts had cost Bentley his legs and caused Murray to be plagued by unrelenting guilt. Once they had regained their breath, the raccoon and tigress had continued with their trek running for another four miles until skidding to an immediate stop...with Neyla smiling, as they had reached their main destination: her apartment building and to their extreme luck...there were no police issued cruisers parked outside.

"Looks like we're in the clear babe. Ready to go inside?" Sly stated with his casual smirk on his face, pleased that he and his feline lover made it to her apartment building and asked if she was ready to step inside...with Neyla mirroring his smile.

"Sure am Ringtail...since I have something very special planned for us after we step inside my apartment." The tigress answered, showing that she was indeed ready to step inside her apartment complex...and stated how she had a 'special surprise' for her lover once they stepped inside her apartment with a rather seductive tone in her voice.

"Oh, really? I wonder what it could possibly be?" The raccoon replied in a playful tone while smiling as he detected the seductive nature in his lover's voice as he knew what she had planned for them after they entered her personal apartment before wrapping an arm around his tigress's slim waist, pulling her in and locked lips in a heated passionate kiss, which she happily returned.

Once they broke and pulled away from the heated kiss, the two lovers smiled lovingly at each other before jumping from the rooftop they were currently standing on and landed safely on their feet on the hard and cold gravel paved street outside the building complex. Once they entered the building through the revolving door and walked past the front desk in the main lobby, Sly and Neyla had stepped inside an elevator and rode up to the 4th floor. After they had reached the 4th floor, the tigress had reached into the right pocket of khaki shorts, pulled out the key to her apartment: #405, inserted it into the keyhole and unlocked the door. As soon as Neyla had opened the door...she slowly turned around, reached for raccoon lover's hands and playfully pulled him inside her apartment with Sly smiling as he closed the door behind them with the back of his right foot.

~Meanwhile at Interpol HQ~

After returning to headquarters from the crash site with Inspector Barkley, Jack had been currently sitting behind his desk in his newly acquired office...which was formerly Carmelita's until it had been cleared out on the short tempered badger's orders while he was gone. The entire office floor had applauded Howlett on his new promotion, especially as the other Interpol detectives had been present for a truly extraordinary moment: how Barkley had proudly awarded him the Medal of Valor, which was only rewarded to Interpol operatives that showed true valor and courage whilst out in the field and bringing in the absolute worse criminals to justice. While he was sitting behind his desk, the wolf detective couldn't help but worry Neyla and her friends, especially Bentley as he couldn't get the grisly memory of seeing the horrible state he was in after Clock-Lita's upper beak had collapsed on him and caused permanent damage to his spine.

'I hope Sly, Neyla and Murray were able to get Bentley to a hospital. The poor guy...he's probably going to have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.' Howlett mentally stated, hoping and praying that the raccoon and his team had found a hospital to take their friend/teammate and expressed deep sympathy for the turtle: as he would never be able to walk ever again and be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He was also extremely fortunate that Barkley had bought his cover story: how the tigress and her friends had 'already fled' the crash site before he ever found the location where the robotic owl/vixen hybrid crash landed after plummeting into Arpeggio's blimp.

'I also hope they found someplace safe to lay low. Barkley practically has the entire French police force searching the city for them.' He mentally added, praying that Sly, Neyla and Murray had found somewhere to hole up until the local police and Interpol had given up on searching for them...especially since the ill tempered badger had pitched a rather unpleasant fit after hearing Sly and his gang had eluded capture once again and commanded the cops to search every street, alleyway and empty/abandoned building throughout Paris before glancing up as someone had knocked on his closed office door.

"Come in." Jack stated professionally, granting the person who knocked on the door to step inside his office...and was slightly surprised that it was none other than Inspector Barkley, with a folded up binder in his left hand!

"Chief, has there been any new developments? Has Cooper and his gang been spotted?" The wolf detective asked while sitting behind his desk, assuming the reason that his superior officer had stepped into his office was regarding the manhunt for Sly and his gang...and was secretly relieved by his hot tempered boss's answer.

"Unfortunately Jack...there have been no new updates. The local police have had no luck in locating the Cooper Gang...they've searched every alley, abandoned piece of property, hell even the sewers and they are no where to be found!" The badger answered while starting off in a soft tone, informing Howlett that the French police were unable to locate the raccoon and his team...before shouting in great ire, as he was extremely pissed that Sly and his gang had once again managed to slip through their fingers!

"So for the time being...I'm canceling off the search parties. The second the Cooper Gang comes out of hiding...we'll be ready. For the time being, we have other high profile assignments that need our utmost attention...just like this one." Barkley continued after calming himself down, begrudgingly stating that he would be calling off the search parties for the Cooper Gang as he fairly guessed they must've gone underground and would be pointless to waste manpower searching for them, as their office had other high profile international criminals that needed to be brought to justice and softly placed the folder onto Jack's desk.

"This man's name is Braxton Kola: he's a high level gun smuggler originating from Montenegro. He started out as a petty jewel thief, until he was recruited into the Albanian Mob: where he transported huge shiploads of heroin and cocaine until he moved up the ranks and was promoted to gun smuggling. He runs assault rifles, submachine gun, semi-automatic handguns and shotguns from Albania to other organized crime outfits and para-military factions operating in Hungary, Russia and Serbia." He added while introducing the wolf detective to his new assignment: a golden jackal named Braxton Kola, who transported and supplied military grade weaponry to other high level criminals operating throughout Europe.

"I'll catch the earliest flight from France to Albania in the morning, Chief." Howlett replied as he went over the file of his new assignment while giving his boss a casual smirk, stating that he would catch the first plane leaving from Paris to Tirana in the morning and more importantly: he would bring in Kola alive.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Good luck, son." Barkley stated with a proud and warm smile, as he knew he made the right choice to reach out to Jack and replace him with Carmelita: as he was a true loyal and honest working police officer who would never betray his oath to the law and wished him the best of luck the moment his flight touched down in Albania.

"Thank you Chief Barkley." The wolf detective answered as he and his boss shook hands in a firm handshake, showing he appreciated the badger's kind words before he stepped out of his office and closed the door behind him before returning to his own. Once Barkley had exited his office, Howlett had smiled and chuckled while shaking his head in amusement.

'Business as usual.' He mentally stated while chuckling softly before turning his attention to the file his badger boss had placed on his desk and studied it, needing to be fully acquainted with the gun smuggler he would be going after in Albania.

~Back at Neyla's apartment~

Once they entered her apartment and stepped into her bedroom, Sly was immediately pinned back against the closed door with the smaller and amorous body of his tigress planting her lips over his in a heated passionate kiss, which he enthusiastically returned with a heated passion. They had locked lips for what felt like ten-twelve minutes before pulling away, as they need for air became great. After they had regained their breathe, Neyla had latched her lips onto the croon of her lover's neck, with Sly moaning as he instinctively removed his tigress's hijab, discarding it onto the floor and running his glove covered hands through her silky black hair, which earned a moan from feline lover before they locked lips in another heated ans passionate kiss.

"Is there something you want Ringtail?" The tigress asked while whispering into her raccoon lover's left ear, which sent an excited sensation shooting up his spine.

"Yes...you, my beautiful tigress." Sly answered while playfully lowering his hands down onto his lover's sexy and slender legs, slowly moving upward until reaching their main destination: clutching and squeezing the tigress's firm ass...which earned a seductive purr from the feline, as she was deeply aroused from feeling her lover's hands playfully reaching for and squeezing her ass.

"Ohh, I'm pretty sure that can be arranged." Neyla stated with a warm smile, which her raccoon casually mirrored it before he attempted to lift her up. After getting the hint, the tigress had instinctively wrapped her arms around her lover before she leaped and wrapped her legs around Sly's waist before he carried her towards the bed.

After placing and laying his feline lover on the bed, the two lovers had locked lips in another heated kiss with their tongues wrapping around in a heated tango. Once the need for air became great and they pulled away, Sly and Neyla had immediately removed their shoes/boots and the raccoon skillfully tossed his cap and gloves onto the nightstand which was on the right side of the bed. After their shoes and accessories were removed, the tigress had instinctively lifted her arms up and the raccoon had naturally removed her tank top and she returned the favor, by removing her lover's shirt. Once they discarded their shirts onto the floor, Sly had playfully shoved Neyla back onto the bed, which earned a soft giggle from the tigress as her raccoon lover had unbuckled her belt and pulled down her shorts, which swiftly joined the pile of their discarded clothing on the floor close to the bed, followed by her underwear.

Once they were completely nude, the two lovers had smiled loving at each other before locking lips in a heated passionate kiss, which conveyed their love while their tongues wrapped around and wrestled for dominance. After they pulled away to breathe, Sly had planted three tender kisses down on his tigress's eyelids and lips before planting a trail of tender kisses from her jawbone down to her neck...Neyla moaning softly at her raccoon lover's actions as he worked his way down to her chest and stopping as he neared her breasts. Knowing that he had his lover's permission, Sly had planted his mouth over her left breast: sucking/licking the delicate nipple which increased the moaning from the tigress.

"Oh, god...Sly. That feels...so incredible, Ringtail...oh..." Neyla stated while moaning and sighing in arousal as her raccoon stimulated her left breast for what felt like five minutes, before switching over to the right breast.

Once he was finished pleasuring the right breast, Sly had chuckled softly after seeing stimulated/aroused his tigress's tits were before planting a trail of kisses down her stomach to her sexy slender waist...before stopping as he neared the tender and soaking flesh between her legs.

"May I?" The raccoon casually asked, feeling that he should have his lover's permission even though he already had her consent from their previous intimate night together.

"You don't need to ask my love. Go right on ahead." The tigress answered with a loving smile, reassuring her lover that he didn't need to ask for her consent even though she understood his reason for asking: he simply didn't want to overstep his boundaries.

Not needing anymore encouragement, Sly had eagerly dived in and inserted his tongue between his feline lover's legs: kissing/licking the clit and labia which sent massive jolts of pleasure surging through Neyla's body as her eyes rolled behind her head while moaning deeply from her raccoon's actions. As he continued to lap up his tigress's delicious and super sweet fluids, Sly had slowly removed his tongue from her clit, which elected a soft whimper from the tigress...and swiftly swiftly changed into erotic moaning as he slowly and gently inserted his right index finger past her folds. Neyla had moaned deeply as her fingers had instinctive clutched the bed sheets beneath them and toes curled up while moving her hip in complete tempo as her lover pumped his pointer finger at a gentle and steady pace while adding his tongue, licking up the juices and nuzzling the tender flesh while pumping the digit between the nub.

"Oh...Sly, oh..." Neyla moaned in complete bliss, enjoying the tender actions of her lover as he continued lapping up the juices while adding his middle finger, inserting both digits which increased the pleasure and brought her closer to reaching her climax.

"Please Ringtail, please..." She pleaded softly, which earned her raccoon's attention as he glanced up with a smile on his face.

"Please what my beautiful tigress?" Sly asked softly, while already knowing his Neyla was about to ask and would happily grant her request.

"Harder...please my love, harder..." The tigress answered softly, asking her lover to pump his fingers at a faster and harder pace as her climax was not too far away.

"With pleasure my love." He answered with a warm hearted grin, as he sensed that his feline lover was about to reach her climax and was more than happy to grant her request as he swiftly inserted both his middle and index digits between her legs while pumping them back and forth at a much harder/faster pace.

"Oh god...Sly...!" Neyla cried out while moaning in ecstasy, as she felt her raccoon's fingers pumping between her legs and tongue licking her clit/labia at a much harder pace until she could no longer hold the built up fluids any longer.

"Oh fuck Ringtail! I'm gonna...gonna cum!" The tigress cried out as she climaxed and unleashed the fluids...which her raccoon lover eagerly licked up and moaned deeply, as he enjoyed the intoxicating taste of his lover's juices.

As soon as he finished lapping up the fluids, Sly had glanced up and chuckled softly after seeing that Neyla had passed out from her release and couldn't help but admire how beautiful his tigress looked as she climaxed before climbing up and planting tender kisses underneath her jawline. While she as recovering from her powerful climax, Neyla had slowly came back to her senses and smiled warmly at her lover's lips underneath her jaw and nuzzling the croon of her neck. After seeing that his tigress had recovered from her climax, the two lover had locked lips in a heated kiss, with Neyla moaning deeply as she had tasted her own juices still remaining on her raccoon's lips before pulling away to breathe.

"You came very quickly babe." The raccoon stated with his casual grin, complimenting on his feline lover had climaxed rather quickly, which earned a small grin from Neyla in return.

"Sorry love." She replied softly while feeling a bit guilty for releasing her built up fluids so soon...which earned a loving chuckle from her lover in return.

"Don't be...you tasted so incredibly sweet." Sly countered, reassuring his tigress that she didn't need to apologize, as the exotic taste of her juices was worth it before they shared a burning passionate kiss.

"Your turn Ringtail." Neyla stated seductively after they pulled away and she instinctive rolled them over, so now she was on top with her raccoon...and immediately lowered herself down to his waist and engulfed her lips around his erected 9 inch member.

"Ohhhh, Neyla...!" Her lover moaned as he tightly clutched the bed sheets while she bopped her head up and down while playfully flickering her tongue around the aroused length.

"Holy shit babe...that feels so amazing..." The raccoon stated while moaning loudly, especially as he felt the wet muscle wrapping and brushing up against his member as she continued to bop her head as she pleasured his cock and had felt a massive wave of excitement surging through out his body.

"Oh fuck babe! I'm...gonna...gonna!" Sly attempted to cry out, attempting to inform his tigress that he had just reached his limit...but couldn't and released his load into her mouth, which she eagerly anticipated and welcomed as she continued sucking her lips around his length.

After letting her raccoon's body cool down and recover from his own climax, Neyla had planted her lips over his in a tender kiss, which her lover eagerly returned with a burning passion. As they continued to kiss, the raccoon had rolled them over with him hovering above his tigress with her laying on the bed and locked lips in another heated but short kiss before pulling away. Knowing that he had his feline lover's consent and didn't need to worry about her becoming pregnant, due to her being on the pill...Sly had gently inserted his length between her legs, which earned a load and erotic moan from his tigress as she felt her lover's 9 inch cock inside her. Neyla had instinctively moved her hips in complete sync to meet each thrust as her raccoon pumped his member at a gentle and steady pace.

"Oh, god Sly...that feels so amazing..." The tigress moaned in a sultry voice, as her hips moved on their on accord to match her lover and mate's thrusts as he continued to pump his length.

"You're just as amazing my beautiful tigress." Sly stated while moaning himself, as he continued thrusting his cock between the tender folds of his feline lover's vagina and softly picked up the tempo: beginning to pump his member at a slightly harder pace, which increased the moaning from both of them.

"Oh, fuck...Sly! Please my handsome Ringtail...please...!" Neyla moaned as she immediately wrapped her arms around her raccoon, as she felt his thrusts going at a much faster and harder pace which earned a casual smile from her lover.

"Please what babe?" He asked in a soft and loving tone, while already knowing what the answer was going to be as he immediately knew his tigress had reached her limit.

"Take me...please me love. Take me now...!" She answered, begging her lover and mate to thrust inside her faster and harder as her climax was near and was answered with a burning kiss on her lips, which she naturally returned with equal passion.

"Consider it done my love." Sly answered with a warm hearted grin as he did as his feline lover asked of him: pumping his length at a much harder and faster pace which earned louder moans from the tigress as her toe curled tightly and tugged at the bottom corners of the bed sheets...and after three short minutes, that was when Neyla had reached her climax.

"Oh...god, Sly! OH, GOD...SLY!" The tigress screamed at the top of her lungs as she felt her raccoon lover's seed entering inside her womb after his last and final thrust before removing his cock from her folds

After their final climax, the two lovers had panted heavily with Sly laying on top of his feline lover/mate while wrapping his arms around her nude form, with the tigress returning the embrace and holding her raccoon as they were slowly recovering from the heated love making...and smiled lovingly at each other before locking lips in a fiery passionate kiss with their tongue embracing in a heated tango.

"My god...you are so beautiful." The raccoon whispered while chuckling softly, complimenting on how beautiful the tigress was as they made love for the second time...which was more passionate than their previous night together back in Prague.

"I wasn't the only sight to be hold." Neyla replied while chuckling softly at her lover's words before placing a tender peck on his lips, which he naturally returned as they locked lips in another heated, but sleepy kiss as they were greatly exhausted from their second time together.

"We should try to sleep a little." Sly recommended before yawning softy, showing he was exhausted from everything they went through earlier today: trekking across Arpeggio's blimp to power up the radio towers to help Jack locate the aircraft before the fated aerial battle against Clock-Lita, running through the streets and alleyways of Paris to get Bentley to the hospital after Howlett allowed them to escape and lastly...from their heated love making.

"Yeah...we probably should. Sleep well Ringtail." The tigress replied, showing she agreed with her raccoon lover and mate's train of thought before placing a tender peck on his lips, which he instinctively returned and pulled her in closer while softly tightening his embrace as he drifted off to sleep.

"I love you." She whispered softly with a loving smile on her face before drifting off to sleep as well in her lover's arms, whilst hoping that both Bentley and Murray were alright...especially as they unwisely let their hippo friend go off on his own after dropping the turtle off at the hospital.

~Meanwhile with Murray~

After his raccoon and tigress friends/teammates had reluctantly allowed him to go for a walk...the hippo had continued walking down an empty alley while smashing his fists against the brick walls and knocking over numerous trash cans while throwing them across the shady passageways as his guilt had been plaguing him ever since the robotic owl's upper beak collapsed on Bentley the moment he removed the Hate Chip from her mouth!

'Its all my fault that Bentley is hurt. If I'd just paid attention, Clock-Lita's upper beak wouldn't have collapsed on him and he'd still able to walk!' Murray mentally stated, belittling himself for his turtle friend being paralyzed from the waist down as he felt it could've been prevented if he simply reacted much faster and caught the beak before it fell and left him paraplegic!

As he continued to walk and made a left turn...that was when the hippo had heard a female voice crying out for help and broke into a fast run! After making a right turn at another corner in the alley, he skidded to a quick stop and stared shocked to what he saw: three Warthog and three Rat guards whom used to work for Dimitri circling two door mice: a woman cradling her boyfriend or husband that had been knocked unconscious and been sporting a busted lip!

"Please stop! Leave us alone! We don't have anything!" The female dormouse cried out, pleading with the six thugs to leave her and her husband alone which fell on deaf ears.

"Sorry Cher...but we have a better idea." The leader of the other two rats stated with a dark smile, while pulling out a small knife from behind his shirt with his fellow thugs chuckling evilly as two of the Warthogs grabbed the female dormouse by her arms and roughly shoved her down to the pavement!

"No, help! Someone please, HELP!" The helpless woman screamed out, begging for someone to come save her and her husband while the thugs advanced towards them...and fortunately for her, her cries had been answered.

"Hey, dirt bags!" Murray shouted out loud, which caught the attention of the six thugs as he charged out from behind the corner of the alley...and knocked out the leader of the Rats with a single and powerful punch to his face!

The Rat had simply stared in complete shock as the last thing he saw was the intimidating glare the hippo had on his face...before his fist had collided with his face and blood had been sent spewing from his maw as he spun around and collapsed to the hard and cold concrete! The other two Rats stared surprise as Murray had knocked their fellow thug out with a single punch, along with the Warthogs holding down the female dormouse...as they were too slow to react as he landed a swift and powerful right hook/left uppercut! The two thugs had groaned as the powerful blows knocked one of them out and sent the other staggering back, tripping over a trash can and ended up with the filthy contents spilling all over him!

The remaining three thugs had gasped, as they were greatly frightened by quickly Murray had knocked their fellow lackeys out without even trying and backed away...due to them being frightened by the pissed off glare the hippo had on his face.

"Ma'am, are you and your husband alright?" The hippo asked while keeping his fists balled up, ready to face the remaining rodents and Warthog still standing and glanced over his shoulder to see the female dormouse helping her husband up to his feet, as he was slowly regaining consciousness.

"You just saved out lives! Merci! Merci!" The woman cried with tears of gratitude sliding down her face, thanking Murray for showing up when he had and coming to their rescue in the neck of time.

"Just take your husband and get somewhere safe. I'll handle these creeps!" He stated with a warm smile, showing he was pleased with himself for saving the married couple and instructed them to get to safety as he dealt with the rest of the cowards who randomly attacked.

"Thank you sir." The female dormouse replied, thanking him one last time as she allowed her husband to lean on her shoulder and assisted him to run as they fled and escaped the alley.

"You just cost us an easy score, ya fat bastard!" The leader of the Rat thugs cried out, as he eventually regained consciousness and witnessed the married couple flee and glared angrily before quickly getting back on his feet and pounced, attempting to stab the hippo with his knife...only to be met with an unpleasant fate.

The second the arrogant thug had pounced with his knife drawn out, Murray had easily grabbed the rodent by his neck...and tightened his hold around his throat with the Rat gasping greatly for air! His two fellow lackeys gasped surprised as their gang leader was being strangled and struggled to breathe, as he landed soft blows on the hippo's muscular hand as his fingers tightened their grip around his throat!

"Let him go! You're killing him!" The third Rat thug cried out, begging the pissed off hippo to let their friend/gang leader go as he was strangling him to death...which fell on death ears as Murray continued tightening his grip!

"Let him go, ya crazy bastard!" The Warthog still standing demanded, ordering the angry driven hippo to let the Rat thug go as he was barely breathing...and was met with a rather unexpected outcome.

"You want him? You can have him!" Murray asked darkly, as he continued holding the Rat leader in his grip, whom was barely consciousness as his hands/legs went limp and coldly tossed the unconscious rodent right towards him!

The Warthog had cried out in deep surprise, as the unconscious Rat had smashed right into him and sent him falling flat on his back! Once he recovered, the thug stared completely shocked and horrified...alongside his remaining lackey...as the Rat leader had laid flat on his stomach, lifeless with blood pouring out of his mouth!

"Oh god...he's...he's dead! You...You killed him!" The former security guard turned street thug cried out, as he and his remaining living lackeys stared at the hippo with horrified looks on their faces!

"You're a fuckin' psycho!" The second Rat cried while backing away scared for his life, alongside his fellow street thugs as they had just witnessed the hippo murder their gang leader in cold blood!

"Let's get the Hell outta here!" The 2nd Warthog cried out, as he and his fellow thug had regained consciousness and stared horrified as they witnessed Murray strangle the leader of the Rat thugs to death with their own eyes!

Not needing to be told twice, the five remaining thugs had taken off as fast as their legs could carry them: not wanting to share their fellow lackey's fate by the homicidal hippo or to wait for him to do something twice as worse to them! However...once the street thugs had ran to get away from him...Murray stared completely horrified by what he just did. The hippo had felt like he was in a daze or bad nightmare: as he slowly stared at his glove covered hands and lifeless body of the former Rat guard/street thug he had just murdered!

'No...No...No! No, no no, no! What have I done?!" Murray mentally cried out, devastated that he just murdered someone in cold blood and tossed their lifeless body like it was nothing!

"AHHHHHHH!" He screamed out towards the night sky, letting out a guttural roar while pounding his fists into the cold cement pavement and hard brick walls while not caring if his gloves were getting torn and knuckles were bleeding!

~Meanwhile with Sly and Neyla~

Sly had awoken while gasping softly, as if sensing that something was terribly wrong as he glanced towards the balcony that was locked shut from inside his tigress's apartment.

"My love, what's the matter?" Neyla asked softly, waking up shortly after her raccoon lover as she also had sensed something was wrong due to their thoughts being centered on the same person: Murray.

"I'm just worried about Murray." He answered plain and simple, as if sensing what had happened with their hippo friend and slightly heard Murray's scream echo out through the city of Paris.

"I know Sly. I'm worried about him too." The tigress stated softly, showing she shared her lover's concern about the hippo and knew they should get dressed and head out to look for their friend, to make sure he was alright...but decided against it, as they had no idea where he went and didn't know where to look.

"We can go look for him the second the sun comes out." She added, suggesting that they could look for Murray when morning finally arrived with her raccoon nodding in agreement.

"I was thinking the same thing my beautiful tigress." Sly stated, showing he agreed with Neyla's train of thought: due to them still being slightly sleepy and more importantly: the hospital could call at any moment with an update on Bentley's condition.

After the two lovers locked lips in a sweet loving kiss, they had drifted off back to sleep with the tigress placing/resting her head on her raccoon's chest and smiled while listening to the steady beat of his heart before falling fast asleep. Morning had arrived much sooner than expected, as the sun slowly began to rise and shined through the light blue linen curtains covering the locked doors to the balcony. Both Sly and Neyla had groaned softly, as the sun's strong rays had gotten in their eyes and even though they wanted to sleep a little bit longer...that was also when her cellphone started to blare out. Suspecting that it was the hospital, the raccoon had instinctively moved out of the way to allow his feline lover to climb off the bed and search through their discarded clothes, until she found her shorts, pulled out her cellphone and answered it.

"Hello?" The tigress asked, hoping that it was the lead surgeon, Dr. Brodeur calling them with good news regarding the injuries to Bentley's spine.

"Hello? Is this...Sophia?" A familiar female voice asked, which Neyla quickly identified as the desk clerk from the main lobby and noted how she called her by the name she had written down of the piece of paper she gave the French badger.

"Yes. This is Sophia. Is there any news on my friend?" She answered, while noticing the amused grin Sly had on his face after hearing the alias she had given the hospital staff and asked if there had been any changes to their turtle friend's condition.

"Yes, there is rather terrific news that Dr. Brodeur wishes to share with you, your boyfriend and hippo friend. How fast can the three of you come straight to the hospital?" The receptionist stated, claiming that Dr. Brodeur had rather wonderful news for Neyla, Sly Murray and asked the two lovers how fast they could arrive at the hospital!

"We'll be there right away! Thank you so much for calling! Bye bye." The tigress exclaimed in an exhilarated voice, happy and relieved to hear that Bentley had made it through the surgery and how she, her lover and Murray would be at the hospital in a few short minutes!

"What did the desk clerk say?" Sly asked with a smile on his face, as he could tell by the huge smile on his lover's/mate's face that the receptionist had given her truly fabulous news!

"Dr. Brodeur has wonderful news to share with us my love! Bentley made it through the surgery!" Neyla answered, informing her mate/lover that the turtle had made it through the surgery and how the head surgeon had rather important news to share with them!

"I knew he'd pull through, babe. Bent probably rerouted all the pain through the power of suggestion." The raccoon stated with a warm smile, showing he was twice as relieved to hear that his foster brother/childhood best friend had survived the surgery and fairly guessed that he used his brain power to numb the pain while he was anesthetized.

"Yeah...I was really scared." The tigress replied while chuckling softly with a soft grin, admitting that she frightened by the possibility that Bentley wouldn't have survived the operation.

"...Me too." He stated solemnly, sharing his feline lover's sense of dread as both he and Murray would've been devastated beyond words if their turtle friend had died from the injuries to his crippled back.

"Oh, shit...we still need to find Murray!" Sly softly added, as he swiftly remembered the scream that he and his tigress heard last night and knew deep down that it no doubtingly belonged to their hippo friend.

"Maybe, we don't have to Ringtail. There could be a strong chance that he's already at the hospital." Neyla countered while pointing out how furious Murray was after Dr. Brodeur informed they couldn't bunker down at the waiting room last night and fairly guessed that he was already at the hospital.

"Say, I think you're right Neyla. Let's get dressed and head on over to the hospital. Bentley will be very happy to us." Her raccoon stated, knowing that her hunch was correct: how Murray was probably waiting for them in the waiting area and pointed out how their friend/teammate would be overjoyed seeing them once the badger allowed them to step inside his hospital room.

After locking lips in a sweet loving kiss, Sly and Neyla had immediately dressed themselves and once they were fully clothed, the two lovers had unlocked the doors to the balcony, leaped over across to the closest neighboring roof and began sprinting towards the hospital. It hadn't the raccoon and tigress long to reach the hospital, as they memorized the route they used to reach Neyla's apartment building and after sprinting/jumping across cables and rooftops for what felt like five-six minutes...the two lovers had arrived at the hospital!

Once they stepped inside, Sly and Neyla were relieved to see that Murray was indeed already there, as he was sitting in the main lobby...however, they were greatly shocked by the state he was in: as his gloves were torn and his knuckles were bloody!

"Murray, what happened to you?" The tigress asked, as she was surprised after seeing the state her hippo friend was in and knew that she and her raccoon should've forced him to come with them to her apartment!

"You look like you'd been shadow boxing with a brick wall!" Her lover added, after seeing how banged up his hands were and noticed they were covered in medical grade bandages: no doubtingly by Alice or another nurse.

"I...um...I ran into some trouble last night. Nothing I couldn't handle." Murray answered hesitantly, while avoiding eye contact with his friends and stating that he had ran into 'some small trouble' while out on his walk...which was not true, but he couldn't bring himself to reveal what he did last night to Sly and Neyla.

"What kind of..." His raccoon friend and leader asked, as he and his tigress were surprised that he was avoiding eye contact with them and just knew there was something he wasn't telling them...but was cut off, as that was when both Dr. Brodeur and Alice had entered the main lobby, with the badger carrying a clip board tucked underneath his left arm.

"Ah, Ms. Sophia, how nice to you see you, your boyfriend and hippo friend again." The head surgeon stated, with a bright smile on his face, which confirmed their suspicions about the surgery on Bentley's back being a success.

"Hello doctor. How's our friend? The receptionist mentioned over the phone you had fantastic news for us?" Neyla stated in a casual manner, greeting the badger and got straight to the point: asking for the well being of their turtle friend...with Murray being slightly confused by the name Brodeur had called his tigress friend/teammate.

"I indeed have marvelous news...but I've also got bad news." Dr. Brodeur stated, informing Sly and his friends that he had both good and bad news regarding Bentley's permanent medical condition.

"What's the good news?" The raccoon asked, as he, his tigress lover and hippo friend really needed some good news and would seen smile after hearing the words that would leave the head surgeon's mouth.

"Your friend, Bentley, is alright. Whatever collapsed on his back, had dislodged the C-12 vertebrae to his spinal cord and caused massive nerve damage. Thankfully, we were able surgically move the vertebrae back in place and remove the damaged nerve tissue.." The French badger stated, stating that the operation was a success and explaining Bentley's medical prognosis: how the C-12 vertebrae in his spinal cord been dislocated from Clock-Lita's beak collapsing on him...and how the beak also caused massive nerve damage to his back, which he and his surgical team had successfully repaired.

After hearing that their suspicions were confirmed, Sly and Neyla had cried out in happiness and smiled as Murray had over enthusiastically picked scooped them up and spun them around in his muscular arms, as they were overjoyed that Bentley had pulled through the surgery and more importantly, the injuries to his back were repaired. But sadly however...their happiness had unfortunately changed to great shock and sadness.

"However...the damage to his spinal cord was too severe. After we repaired the C-12 vertebrae...we did a little test, to see if Bentley could sense any sensations through his feet. Neither of his feet responded...he'll never be able to walk ever again." He added with a saddened tone, revealing to Sly, Neyla and Murray that despite his and his team's best efforts...they were unable to repair the permanent damages to the turtle's spine and regretfully concluded that Bentley would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

The second the words left his lips, the raccoon and his friends stared completely speechless and stunned beyond words, as their fears were confirmed as well: how the damages to their turtle friend's back were permanent and he would be needing to get around in a wheelchair!

"He's sleeping right now in his room, but he should waking up soon. You and your friends are more then welcome to see him." Alice stated with a warm smile, informing Neyla, her raccoon lover and hippo friend that Bentley was sleeping, but would be waking up shortly and they were more than welcome to see/talk to him...much to their deep gratitude.

"Thank you Nurse Granger. I, um, know this might sound very sudden...but would it be alright for me, my boyfriend and friend to take Bentley home...today?" The tigress stated softly, showing she and her friends deeply appreciated Alice's kindness and asked if it would be possible for them to check their friend/tech support out of the hospital.

"Doctor?" The female roe deer asked softly while turning to the head surgeon: as discarding a patient from the hospital was his decision to make.

"Normally...I would have to deny your request and insist on Bentley staying here, at least until he's 100% ready to leave. However...that decision is entirely up to him. If he wishes to leave and go home with you and your friends, Ms. Sophia...then we'll release into your charge." Dr. Brodeur answered professionally, stating that he would insist on having Bentley remain at the hospital to fully recover from the surgery...but claimed that if the turtle truly wished to leave, than he could allow his friends to take him home.

"We understand. Which room is he in?" Sly stated for his feline lover/mate and hippo friend, showing they understood that it was completely up to Bentley if he wanted to remain at the hospital or come with them back to Neyla's apartment and asked which hospital room their turtle friend was in.

"Room 205, on the second floor. But before you and friends head up, there is another matter we need to discuss." The French badger answered, informing the raccoon and his friends that their friend's room was on the 2nd floor and stated that there was another subject they needed to discuss...and they immediately knew what it was: payment for Bentley's operation, room and medical expenses.

"How much do we owe you?" Neyla asked, showing she would take of her friend's medical fee and the only response Dr. Brodeur gave was handing her a single sheet of paper which was the turtle's hospital bill...and she would stare shocked by the amount that was written down.

"$1,250 dollars and fifty-two cents!?" The tigress asked, being greatly taken back by the total amount on Bentley's medical bill, along with Sly and Murray as they didn't expect the hospital to charge over $1200 for a single surgery!

"The surgery was very delicate...we never operated on a patient that was of your friend's species before and as I said earlier: the damages to Bentley's spinal cord was very severe." The head surgeon stated while explaining why their friend's medical bill was so high: how they never operated on a turtle before and reminding them that the damages to his spinal cord/back were severe, with Neyla and her friends nodding, as they immediately understood why Bentley's medical bill was so high.

"Dr. Brodeur...my friends and I don't exactly have the money to pay for Bentley's medical expenses, but hopefully this should cover it." She stated softly, claiming that she and her friends didn't have the cash to pay Bentley's bill, but reached into her left shorts pocket and pulled out their alternate means of paying for his stay at the hospital and surgery on his spine: two rubies, two sapphires and a medium sized clear diamond.

The French badger and his surgical nurse stared in deep awe by the sight of the four beautiful gemstones and diamond...alongside Sly and Murray, as they were completely surprised that the tigress had managed to save two rubies, two sapphires and a medium sized diamond from their hideout back on Arpeggio's blimp before Clock-Lita crashed into the main lift of the deceased British parrot's fortress!

"My word...! Where did you get these beautiful gems?" The badger asked softly, as he and Alice were curious to how the tigress, raccoon and hippo had obtained the five lovely gems.

"Before the accident, my friends and I were vacationing in Canada on a tourist visa. We heard tales about an old abandoned mine in the Canadian wilderness and we hired a guide to take us out to the forest. After we located the mine, we started digging...that was where we found the sapphires, rubies and diamond." Neyla answered while cooking up the perfect cover story on how they came in possession of the gems: how she, Sly, Murray and Bentley were 'vacationing' in Canada on 'tourist visas' and had found the five beautiful gemstones while a 'dig' at and 'old abandoned mine' in the heart of the Canadian wilderness.

Thankfully, both the head surgeon and his surgical nurse had bought her story before accepting the gems as payment...and the raccoon and his friends had gave a soft sigh of relief, as they feared that Dr, Brodeur would swat the gems out of the tigress's hands and accuse them of being jewel thieves before having Alice alert the security guards and contact the police.

"Yes...I suppose these gems will suffice as payment." The French badger stated rather a bit hesitantly, showing he was somewhat disappointed in himself for letting his greed get the better of him...but simply couldn't resist being tempted by the red/blue gemstones and diamond.

Once Dr. Brodeur and Alice had accepted the rubies, sapphires and diamond from Neyla, they personally escorted the tigress and her friends to the closest elevator and rode up to the second floor. After they arrived on the 2nd floor, the head surgeon had led Sly, Murray and Neyla to Bentley's room and after he opened the door...they smiled softly as they saw their turtle friend sleeping peacefully in his temporary bed. But much to their happiness...the turtle didn't remain asleep long, as he was slowly waking up.

"Dr. Brodeur, Alice. Would it be possible for us to have the room a moment?" Sly stated softly while turning to the head surgeon and surgical nurse, whilst asking if he, his tigress and hippo friend could have a moment alone with their friend/teammate.

"Of course. You and your friends can have all the time you need." The female roe deer answered kindly, showing she and her supervisor could tell that the raccoon his friends had been waiting for this reunion with their turtle friend before stepping outside to give them their much needed.

"Sly...Neyla...Murray." Bentley stated softly with a warm smile on his face as his vision eventually returned and was overjoyed to see his childhood friends/foster brothers and tigress friend/teammate standing in his hospital room.

"Hey Bentley...it's good to see you awake." His raccoon friend and leader greeted softly with a warm smile, showing he was relieved to his friend and teammate awake, alongside with Neyla and Murray.

"We were so worried that you wouldn't have made it through the surgery." The tigress added after her mate/lover, revealing that they were scared to death of the possibility that he hadn't survived the operation performed on his crippled back/spine and placed a gentle peck on Bentley's cheek, showing she was glad that he pulled through.

"Thank you Neyla. It's good to see you and the guys too. " Bentley stated honestly, showing he was just as overjoyed to see his friends/teammates as well...and blushed softly as his feline friend kissed his cheek.

"...Even though I'll be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my life." He added somberly, showing he already knew about his condition and was saddened that he would never be able to walk on his own two feet ever again.

"...We're so sorry Bent..." Sly apologized softly while bowing his head somberly, alongside Neyla and Murray as their goal to destroy to the Clockwerk Parts and end the curse of the robotic owl had cost their turtle friend his legs and the ability to walk.

"It wasn't your's, Neyla's or Murray's fault Sly. What happened to me is nobodies fault. I'm still alive...and I'll learn to adjust to getting around in a wheelchair." The turtle stated softly, reassuring his friends and team that he didn't blame them for him becoming a paraplegic and pointed out that he would simply learn to adapt to getting around in a wheelchair which helped cheer the raccoon and tigress up. However...Murray had been silent the entire time as he was still blaming himself for his friend/foster brother being paralyzed from the waist down and losing the use of his legs.

"Dr. Brodeur said we can check you out of the hospital. Are you ready to go home, Bentley?" Neyla stated softly, informing her turtle friend that the head surgeon had granted them permission to take him home and asked if he was ready to leave the hospital.

"Home?" Bentley asked, as he surprised to hear that his friends had found a suitable and temporary place to crash...and would soon be deeply surprised by the answer!

"Yeah...we're staying at Neyla's apartment. It's only four miles from here." Sly answered informing and shocking his friend and teammate at the same time, by revealing the place they were staying at was his tigress lover/mate's personal apartment building!

"...Let's go home you guys." The turtle stated with a warm hearted smile, which his friends happily mirrored before Murray instinctively and gently picked him from the bed and placed him, sitting straight up on the wheel chair.

After Bentley was comfortably seated in the wheelchair, his hippo friend had gently wheeled him down the hallway with Sly and Neyla right behind them and called for the elevator. Once they rode it down to the main lobby, the raccoon and his friends had exited the hospital and walked casually through the now flooded streets of Paris...with Bentley smiling at the sight of the people living their lives happily, thanks to him and his team putting an end to the Klaww Gang and Arpeggio's demented master plan. Even though destroying the Clockwerk Parts had cost him his legs...the turtle accepted it as a necessary sacrifice, especially since the robotic owl could no longer haunt his raccoon friend/leader's family line and more importantly...his future children.

After walking for four miles, Sly and his team had arrived outside Neyla's apartment building and once they stepped inside the main lobby, the tigress had called for the elevator and they rode it up to the 4th floor. Once the reached their designated floor and exited the elevator, Neyla, her raccoon lover, hippo and turtle friends had stepped inside her apartment.

"Wow Neyla...you have a rather beautiful home." Bentley stated, complimenting his feline friend on what a truly fabulous apartment she had bought and paid for during her years in Interpol.

"Why thank you Bentley." The tigress stated honestly, thanking her turtle friend for his kind words and was glad that he took an immediate liking to her apartment.

"What do you think about Neyla's apartment Mur...Murray?" Sly stated softly while turning to his hippo friend, about to ask what he thought about his lover's/mate's apartment...only to be taken back by what he just witnessed.

"Murray...what's the matter?" He asked again, as he witnessed the hippo silently remove his mask and discarded it onto the floor, which surprised his raccoon friend and leader, along with Bentley and Neyla as they stared surprised beyond words!

"Murray what's wrong? Talk to us!" The raccoon asked, deeply shocked that his friend had just discarded his mask onto the floor, followed by his scarf, gloves and goggles and demanded that he talked to them so they could understand what was bothering him!

"...I'm done." Murray stated plain and simple, which greatly shocked his friends and teammates!

"Done? What do you mean you're...?" Sly asked completely speechless beyond words, along with his tigress lover and turtle friend by what the hippo just said and was about to say next!

"I'm the leaving the team!" He answered while shouting in deep annoyance, which deeply stunned and startled his friends...as they never heard him yell at them with that much anger before!

"What?!" The raccoon asked and demanded at the same time, not believing that Murray was walking out on them, especially after they just brought Bentley to their temporary home!

"Why?" Neyla asked shocked and stunned, just as her mate/lover as she couldn't believe that their hippo friend was quitting the team when they just picked up their turtle friend from the hospital and stepped inside her apartment!

"Murray...why? Why are you doing this?" Bentley asked, wanting to know why his hippo friend was abandoning him and their team...but had a good idea to what his reason for leaving was: him.

"I was...I was out last night on a walk. I...stumbled upon a married couple being mugged by a group of street thugs. They...beat up the husband very bad, knocked him unconscious and the gang leader was planning on...on raping...raping the..." Murray muttered softly while attempting to reveal what had happened to him last night: how he had gone on a walk in order to clear his mind and ease his guilt before hearing a woman screaming for help and spotted the married dormouse couple being ganged up on the former security guards turned street thugs...and struggled to spit out the words on what the leader of the rat thugs had planned to do to the female dormouse.

"...The gang leader had planned to rape the wife?" Sly asked softly, as both Neyla and Bentley had disgusted looks on their faces as a bunch of cowardly streets thugs had randomly attacked a defenseless married couple, assaulted the husband and attempted to sexually assault his wife...which they guessed was obviously prevented thanks to the hippo showing up when he had.

"...He's dead...The gang leader...I killed him." Their hippo friend stated, revealing that he murdered the leader of the French Rat thugs to his friends...much to their great dismay and shock!

"...What?" The raccoon asked softly, not believing the words that just left his friend's mouth!

"Murray...what did you just say?" Neyla asked completely speechless, along with Bentley as the three of them looked at their hippo for horrified looks on their faces!

"I killed the gang leader...strangled him to death with my bare hands...and I threw his dead body at one of his fellow gang members...like he was garbage! I couldn't even believe what I'd done until his fellow street thugs told me he was dead and I saw the blood pouring out of his mouth!" He answered simply with tears sliding down his cheeks completely broken, revealing to his friends/teammates that he had strangled the leader of the Rat thugs to death with his bare hands and then tossed his lifeless body away...like it was a piece of garbage!

Even though Sly, Neyla and Bentley were shocked and speechless after hearing Murray reveal to them that he murdered someone in cold blood...they were no longer frightened of their hippo friend and felt great sympathy towards him: as they could tell that he never meant to kill the gang leader, even though he had planned on sexually assault the married man's wife after his fellow thugs knocked the husband out. But before they could try to console their guilt ridden and broken friend, the hippo simply stopped them by backing away from them.

"Bentley...You, and Sly are the best friends a guy could ask for and closest things I've had to brothers while growing up in that orphanage. You guys know I would do anything you'd ask of me and even die for you both...and this is the last thing I'd ever want to do. So please...don't try to stop me. I don't want to hurt you guys, especially Neyla." Murray stated with tears building in his eyes while stating what the turtle and raccoon meant to him: how they were his best friends growing since childhood and closest things he had to actual brothers and begged them to let him go...as he didn't want his guilt and anger make him do something else that he would regret for the rest of his life.

"Murray, please...we don't want you to leave. We can help you. We can sort this..." Bentley replied softly, pleading with the hippo not to leave the team and stated that he, Sly and Neyla could help him overcome his guilt and anger, only to be cut off by his broken friend.

"I'm no good to you guys if my head is all messed and my heart isn't in it." He countered, pointing out that he was no good to his turtle, raccoon and tigress friends if his mind was an emotional mess, wrecked by guilt and if his heart wasn't dedicated to the team while they were out pulling a heist.

"Murray, are you sure this is what you want?" Sly asked softly, needing to make sure that leaving the team in order to clear his mind was what his hippo friend truly wanted.

"I'm sorry you guys...I truly am, but...I've made up mind." Murray stated softly, showing he didn't want to leave his team and friends, especially Bentley...but couldn't stay since seeing his turtle friend in that wheelchair would constantly remind him of his greatest failure and haunt him forever.

"Then do what you need to do...and just know that you'll be welcomed back to the gang if you ever want to rejoin us." His raccoon friend and leader stated softly, showing he understood that the hippo needed to find special help in order to overcome the guilt that was plaguing him from being unable to prevent Bentley from being paraplegic and more importantly...from letting his anger control him and murdering that street thug in cold blood with his bare hands.

"Thanks Sly...I really appreciate it." Murray stated softly, showing he was glad that his friend, leader and foster brother understood his reasons for leaving and appreciated that he would always be welcomed back to the team, should he ever decide to rejoin the Cooper Gang...before they embraced in a brotherly hug.

After he and Sly released their hold of each other, the hippo had turned his attention to Neyla and hugged the tigress as gently as he could in his muscular arms. Before Murray had released his hold on his feline friend, she placed a gentle peck on his cheek and wished him a safe journey before he turned to Bentley, who gave his hippo friend a brotherly hug good bye which he returned as gently as he could without hurting his turtle friend. As soon as the hippo and turtle friends released each other from their, Murray had gave his friends one last smile before turning around and stepping out of Neyla's apartment.

"God damn it!" The raccoon angrily shouted, while pounding his left hand onto the table after his friend and teammate had walked out the door and exited his tigress lover's apartment building.

"Sly...are you alright?" Neyla asked softly while attempting to soothe and comfort her mate and lover, while shedding a tear herself as Murray had just walked out on them because of the immense guilt that had been hounding him the moment Clock-Lita's upper beak had collapsed on Bentley and rendered him paralyzed from the waist down.

"What Murray went through last night...it...it never would've happened if we'd simply insisted that he come with us to your apartment, Neyla." Her raccoon lover replied softly while turning to face her, stating that if they had forced the hippo to come with them to apartment last night after dropping Bentley off at the hospital he never would've gotten into that fight with those street thugs and more importantly...he wouldn't have murdered the gang leader who attempted to rape the female dormouse.

"So...what do we do now?" Bentley asked softly, wondering what he and his remaining teammates were supposed to do for the mean time, especially since Murray had just quit and they no longer had the team van.

"I...honestly don't know Bentley. For the time being...we just lay low until we can set up a new safe house somewhere in the city." Sly answered softly, stating that he had no idea to what he, his turtle friend and feline lover were suppose to do...except to keep a low profile and not draw any unwanted attention to themselves and once the time was right, they'd fine a suitable piece of property to turn into their new hideout to reside in.

Even though the raccoon and his team had succeeded in destroying the remains of the robotic owl whom plagued his family clan since Ancient Egypt...the results of victory were both..unexpected and unfortunate: as Bentley had lost the use of his legs and Murray had just left the team: due to being overwhelmed by the guilt for he for not reacting fast enough to prevent the turtle from becoming a paraplegic and murdering a man by strangling him to death. Sly admitted from the start after he and his team escaped from the Natural Museum in Cairo that he had no idea what the future had in store for him...but he never expected for his team to be broken apart. For the time being...it would be just him, Neyla and Bentley. However...fate would soon throw Sly another curve ball that he would never expect.

The End

A/N: There it is everyone, the final chapter to The Raccoon and The Tigress. I would like to deeply apologize to my fellow Fanfic authors and loyal followers for the two-three month delay. I had meant to have the final chapter published by the end of April...but I've been plagued by an annoying case of writer's block and I know its no excuse, but also frustrated with the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.

I also have a rather special announcement: I will begin working on a sequel to the TRATT: where Sly and Neyla rebuild their team to break into the Cooper Vault while battling the demented and homicidal scientist, Dr.M.

Until next time, please be sure to review and comment. Have good night.