Intermission
Part Four
Tygra walked briskly to Cheetara's bedside, snatching the chart notes from Wilykat. "I distinctly remember indicating you were not to be in here unless I allowed it."
Wilykat took a step back, nearly knocking into Panthro in doing so. "I only wanted to help." he stammered.
"You've done more harm than good." growled the tiger.
"Hey, lay off, he didn't mean to do anything wrong." spoke up Sumik.
Tygra turned his stare to the cougar. "Might I remind you, young man, that you are still on your probation as a Thundercat."
Sumik was about to protest, but Panthro laid a hand on his shoulder. "Easy, now. No need for you to get involved." Sumik wanted badly to stand up to Tygra, but he knew Panthro was right. This wasn'tthe time.
"Get out." Tygra ordered Wilykat, who nodded and, head down, leftthe room.
Panthro's and Tygra's eyes locked in a stale mate. Finally, Tygra turned away with a sickened look on his face. "You just couldn't bear to tell her. Your own mate, and you couldn't do it. Mus take alotta balls to get somebody else to read it casually off a chart, eh?"
Cheetara was trying to follow what was going on. What the hell was wrong with her? She felt the muscles in her neck tighten around the aparatus that was snaked through her respiratory system. Despritely, she fought off the need to throw up, knowing somehow that would worsen the situation. Grabbing blindly at the pen as she fought off the tears brought on by diagnosises that ran rampant through her head, she kept coming back to the same thought: Please don't let it be cancer. She'd seen so many aflicted with all types of the horrible disease, and it was something she wouldn't wish upon even her worst enemy. If it wasn't cancer, could it possibly be something worse. What could be worse? Her stomach trembled, irritating her throat. Tickling inside her abdomen, creeping, then rushing up through her chest, the sickly-sweet vomit spewed out, warm trickles running down the side of her mouth and through hernose.
Tygra held the breathing device above her for a moment, then threw it to the side of the room. Seconds later, he had a suction hose in his palm, cleaning away the expelled matter. Her first few breaths without the respirator were short and some what shallow in her lungs, but quickly returned to normal. Cheetara opened her mouth, about to ask what was going on, but Tygra put his hand to her lips.
"Shhh...Shouldn't talk now. Your throat's going to be really sore. Your breathing is good though, Sumik was right, you're doing fine on your own." The cougar looked at the tiger in disbelief that he would admit the earlier mistake. After Tygra finished, he went to Sumik's side of the room. "I think you two might want to talk." He said, drawing the curtain that separated the two beds.
Despite Tygra's warning, Cheetara spoke anyway. "There was something you wanted to tell me?" she managed to get out in a raspy voice.
Panthro swallowed hard, staring at the wall. "Yes."
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