Chapter 13
Lion-O climbed into bed; his loving wife was already there. It had been a long day and they were looking forward to getting some sleep. Cheetara moved her head onto his chest, and he wrapped his arm around her, kissing her temple before settling into sleep.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
"What the…" Lion-O moaned; it felt like it had only been twenty minutes. It had in fact been a little over an hour.
"Sweet Jaga, seriously?" Cheetara moaned as well before grabbing the bedside receiver.
"Sorry guys, I hate to wake you, but we've received word from the Evil Chasers," it was Lea on the radio panel, which confused them as Panthro was supposed to be in the Control room on watch.
"What kind of word?" Cheetara wanted to know.
"Rattigan wasn't among the ships' crew. He is back on Plundarr. Enemy is being transported to the Penal Planet as we speak. Mandora is not in a good way. They've induced a coma, hoping that her body will heal better this way," Lea explained.
"Great Jaga's ghost," Lion-O heaved a sigh.
"Evil Chasers are bracing for a bigger fight. They'd like to see you both in the morning," Lea told them.
"Very good. We'll join them. We'll talk about you covering for Panthro later. Goodnight," Lion-O ended the conversation and the two tried to settle back into sleep. They needed to be fully functioning in the morning.
Down in the Control Room, Lea heaved a sigh after ending the call. She turned her head to the corner of the room, where Panthro stood, stark naked. Late night hanky panky in the Control Room had almost become something that Commander McCoy got a front row seat to when he bopped onto the video screen.
"That's the last time I let you convince me to try this," Lea gave him a look. Panthro sheepishly put his clothes back on.
"I figured we were in the clear. It's almost midnight," he said in his own defense. He slid into the seat next to her.
"I know we haven't had a lot of time to ourselves lately and we have to make the most of whatever time we do have, but we need to be more careful," she told him.
"All right. We'll figure it out. Now your original reason for visiting me was…" the panther trailed off.
"Timur. Ma-Mutt refuses to leave the little one's side. I'm not sure that's a bad thing but what if we helped Ma-Mutt help Timur?" Lea asked.
"You've got my attention. What are you thinking?" Panthro wanted to know.
"What if we had a harness that would help Ma-Mutt help Timur sit up? Maybe if Ma-Mutt is doing it, then Timur might be more willing to do it? Studies have shown that animals help those that are incapacitated – whether mentally or physically," she explained.
"It's a start. We can talk to the doctor and see what he thinks. Then I can get Ben to help me make it," he smiled.
"It would be a welcome distraction," Lea nodded.
"They aren't handling this well, are they?" Panthro asked.
"Would you?" She wondered.
"I don't know. It would be a disappointment if I could not do what my father did with me when I was a cub, but I would try to make life as best as I could. I'm sure that they will do the same. It's just overwhelming," he said.
"Yes it is," the lioness frowned.
To Be Continued…