Rum Tum Tugger dashed down the street to the lamp post. He ignored the queens who called out to him. He was looking for Medica. He had to find her and fast. Only she could save his friend's life.
He turned the corner, the lamp post came into view. He ran up to it and desperately looked around. He saw the calico entering an alley not far away.
He called out to her.

"Medica!"

The calico looked around when she heard her name.

"Medica," he shouted again, running toward her.

Finally, she saw him. Her green eyes lit up.

"Hi Tugger!"

Her smile slowly faded. She sensed that there was something wrong.
The Maine coon finally reached her.

"Medica, I need your help," he panted. "It's an emergency."

"What's wrong?"

"There's no time. Come on, I'll explain on the way."

He reached for her paw, but the calico stepped out of his reach.

"Tell me what's going on," she demanded.

Tugger rolled his eyes. They really needed to hurry.

"One of my friends from the tribe is hurt bad. He needs help fast."

He again reached for Medica's paw, but she stepped away again. Tears were slowly filling her eyes.

"Rum Tum Tugger!" she practically shouted. "I trusted you when I showed you my powers. I thought that you would keep them a secret!"

"Medi. . ."

"You promised that you would!" sobbed the queen. "I thought that you were different from everyone else, but you're just the same. You only want me for my powers!"

"Medica you know that's not true. I love you more than anything. YOU, not your powers."

"Then you wouldn't ask me to use them."

Tugger took both of the calico's paws and looked into her eyes.

"Please Medica," he pleaded, something he'd never done before. "At least come with me. If you could only see him I know you'd change your mind."

"I don't even know this tom."

"Maybe you've heard of him. His name is Magical Mr. . ."

"He's a magical cat?" shouted the queen.

Her voice had suddenly become angry and she pulled away from the Maine coon.

"Then he can heal himself!"

"No Medica, he can't."
"Why not?"

Rum Tum Tugger bit his lip. Precious minutes were slipping past.

"Well for one thing, he does not have the power to heal. Even if he did he would not be able to use it. Not in the condition he's in right now."

Medica looked down.

"Please, Medica."

Tugger again took her paws in his.

"Please."

The stray queen sighed.

"Fine," she said quietly.

"Thank you!"

Tugger gave her a quick kiss and they ran off.

=^.".^=

Tugger brought the queen to the junkyard. Still grasping her paw in his, they dashed to the tribe's clearing.
Medica got a brief look at all the strange cats who stared at her. They seemed anxious about something, but none of them looked at her with any hint of hostility. This made her feel a little better.
They ran through the clearing and straight to an old car.
A tall gray tabby stood in front of the entrance.

"Move Munkustrap!" said Tugger.

The tabby, whose name was Munkustrap, shook his head.

"Sorry bro," he said. "Only Vic and Jem can go in there right now."

"So he and Tugger are brothers," Medica thought to herself.
That was strange. She didn't see any resemblance at all.

She said nothing as the Maine coon argued with the gray tabby.
Finally, Tugger had enough. He pushed his brother out of the way, grabbed Medica's paw and they entered the car.
The calico gasped when her eyes rested on the magical cat. Tugger was right. It was bad. His body was almost entirely wrapped in blood-soaked bandages. His wrists were bound together and held up by a queen. She was smaller than herself. She looked barely over a year. But then, Medica could tell by her collar that she was owned. Surely her humans kept her pampered and beautiful.
She breifly looked up at them when they entered. Her glass green eyes were flooded with tears and yet, she smiled.

"He told me that he loves me," she said. "And that he'll always be with me no matter what happens."

She buried her face in the tom's bandaged chest and began to sob.
The Rum Tum Tugger gave Medica's paw a squeeze, then he got down next to her. He wrapped an arm gently around her.

"He's right," he said kindly. "Nothing will ever keep you two apart. You love each other more than anything. Remember what Demeter says, 'Where there is love, there is also miracles.'"

Medica felt tears coming to her own eyes. This was a side of the Rum Tum Tugger that she'd never seen before. Her heart went out to the young queen and the tom who apparently was her mate. She had to help him.
She wanted to help him.

"Rum Tum Tugger! What is the meaning of all this?" demanded an angry voice.

An older calico walked past Medica and stood between her and the Maine coon.

"Who is she? Why is she here?"

"Breathe Jellyorum!" said the Tugger, rising to his feet.

He calmly walked past the older calico known as Jellyorum and stood beside the stray queen.

"This is Medica. We met a few weeks ago. Medica this is Jellyorum and Jemima."

The jellicle queens nodded to her. She nodded back.

"What's his name?" she asked, pointing to the tuxedo.

"His name is Mistoffelees," answered Tugger. "He and Jemima are mates."

Medica knew that already, but she didn't want to seem impolite and so she simply nodded.

"Medica," said the other calico. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I think you are very nice, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave the car."

"Miss Jellyorum, you don't understand. . ."

"I understand dear, you are here with Rum Tum Tugger and that is wonderful, but he also has to leave."

"But. . ."

"Medica."

Jellyorum again interrupted the stray queen. She took her by both paws and lead her to a corner.

"Mistoffelees has been very badly injured. He has cuts all over his body. Some of them have yet to stop bleeding. On top of that, both of his wrists were cut. Jemima is optimistic, but the truth is that he does not have much longer to live. He and Jemima should be alone right now."

Medica waited until the older calico had finished before she began to speak.

"I can help him," she said.

Jellyorum stared at her.

"My dear, this is no time for jokes."

"I'm not joking."

Medica leaned in closer to the calico.

"I have healing powers," she whispered.

Jellyorum shot her a look.

"Certainly not my dear Medica!"

"It's true," said the Rum Tum Tugger who had walked up to them.

"No! It's impossible!"

Medica looked at the Maine coon for an answer.

"We can prove it to you," he said. "If you'll let us remove one of Misto's bandages. . ."

"That is out of the question," interrupted the calico. "That would make the bleeding worse."

"But. . ."

"Wait Medica," said the Tugger. "It's no use. Jellyorum is a very stubborn queen."

Jellyorum shot him a look. The Maine coon continued.

"She will not believe anything unless she sees it with her own eyes."

When he finished, the Rum Tum Tugger extended his claws and swiped them through the flesh on his arm. He clenched his teeth as the cuts began to bleed.

"Rum Tum Tugger, what are you doing?" said the shocked Jellyorum.

She examined the scratches.

"They're pretty deep," she said. "Fortunately, I still have some bandages."

"I don't need them," said the Maine coon.

Before the calico could say anything else, he held his arm out to Medica. The stray queen placed her paw over the cuts. Tugger flinched but did not make a sound.
When Medica pulled her paw away, the blood was gone.
Surprised, Jellyorum examined the Tugger's arm.
The cut had completely vanished.
There was not even a scar.
It was as though it had never been there.
The calico was speechless.
Neither Rum Tum Tugger nor Medica waited for her to respond before they hurried past her.
Medica got down next to the magical cat, opposite from Jemima.

"Jemima," she said. "I need to. . ."

Before she could finish, Mistoffelees began to cough. Blood flooded his mouth. Jemima picked up a rag to wipe it away when Tugger stopped her.

"Wait," he said. "Watch this."

Confused, the jellicle queen looked at Medica. She had placed her paw over the magical cat's mouth.
In a few seconds, he stopped coughing.
Medica lifted her paw.
The blood was gone.
She covered the large scratch on his cheek.
It also disappeared.
In less than two minutes, Misto's face was again clean and white. Rid of all the cuts that had once been there.
Jemima rubbed his cheek.
There was no doubt about it, the scratches were gone.
They had been healed.
She looked up at Medica. Tears again filled her eyes. She reached over her mate and hugged the calico as tightly as she could.

"Thank you!"

Medica smiled.

"You're welcome."

Jemima quickly removed the bandages from her mate's wrists. Medica took one of his paws and pressed her paw over the cut.
In a second, it was healed.
Medica did the same with his other wrist.

"It's good that he's asleep," said the calico. She did not want to use the word unconscious for fear that it would upset Jemima.

"Why is that?" asked the young queen.

"Because the healing process is rather painful."

"No kidding," muttered the Maine coon.

Medica laughed.

"Oh yeah, Tugger knows."

Jemima looked at the tom's embarrassed expression and giggled.

In no time at all, every last wound on the magical cat's body had been healed.

"He ought to wake up soon," said Medica, rising to her feet.

Jemima also rose. She hugged her new friend.

"Thank you so much. If you hadn't come. . ."

"Don't worry about it," said Medica kindly. "He's going to be fine. What is it that humans always say? You will live happily ever after."

Jemima smiled. Her eyes were glistening with tears. She hugged the calico again.

"Thank you."

"Yes, thank you Medica," said another voice.

The calico looked up to see Jellyorum smiling at her.

"I'm so sorry for the way I behaved. I was rude and unkind. Will you forgive me?"

Medica smiled.

"Of course Miss Jellyorum."

"Oh please, call me Jelly," said the older calico. "Miss Jellyorum makes me feel so old."

Medica giggled and hugged Jellyorum.

"I should be going now," she said at last.

"Oh must you?" asked Jemima. "You only just got here. The other jellicles would love to meet you. Misto will want to thank you when he wakes up."

Medica smiled and shook her head.

"No thank you Jemima. I really should leave."

"You are always welcome here," said the older calico.

"You are very kind."

Medica turned to the Rum Tum Tugger.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" he asked.

The stray queen nodded.

"Do you mind if we tell the other jellicles about your power?"

Medica thought for a little while.

"We won't if you don't want us to," said the Tugger.

The jellicle queens nodded.

"It's alright," said the calico. "You can tell them if you want. As long as they don't mob me like the other cats did, I don't mind."

Tugger smiled.

"Don't worry. The jellicles won't do anything like that. I'll be sure of it."

"Goodbye Jelly and Jemima," said the stray queen. "It was nice to meet you."

"It was a pleasure to meet you," answered the jellicles.

Tugger held out his paw. Medica took it and the two felines exited the car.

Jellyorum left the car a few minutes later to tell the tribe what had happened.
Jemima knelt down next to her mate.

"I knew you would be okay Misto," she said. "I knew it."

She knelt down and kissed him.
Mistoffelees lifted one of his paws, placed it on the back of her head and returned her kiss.

"I didn't think I'd ever be able to do that again," he said.

He was surprised at how easy it was to speak and how strong his voice sounded.

Jemima smiled.

"Well, you did. And you'll be able to for a long time."

Misto looked at her confusedly. He suddenly realized that the pain was gone.
All of it.
The next thing he noticed was that his wrists were no longer bound together.
He lifted one paw and looked at it in amazement.
The cuts on his wrists and fingers were gone.
Vanished.
Completely healed.
He lifted his other paw to see the same thing.
He sat up.
His strength had magically returned to him.

"Am I dreaming?" he asked when he saw that the cuts on his arms and legs were gone also.

Jemima shook her head.

"You are wide awake."

Mistoffelees believed it, but he certainly didn't understand it.
He remembered the fight with the guard cats.
He remembered the intense pain.
He remembered the blood.
Could that have been a dream?
In a corner of the car, he saw a pile of rags that were stained with blood. They had once been his bandages.
It was not a dream.
But, if he was not dreaming, how was it possible?
Jemima seemed to read his mind.

"Remember the queen that Rum Tum Tugger goes to see all the time?"

The magical cat nodded.

"Well it just so happens that she has healing powers. She came here with Tugger and healed you from head to foot. I can't believe you slept through the whole thing."

Misto shook his head in bewilderment.

"Neither can I," he said. "Where is she now?"

"She left a little while ago."

"What? A queens comes here, saves my life and I don't even get to thank her for it?"

Jemima shrugged.

"Jelly and I asked her to stay, but she insisted on leaving."

"Maybe I can still catch her," said the tuxedo.

He started to get up, but Jemima pushed him back down.

"Oh no you don't," she said. "You are going to stay right here and rest."

Mistoffelees smiled as she made him lay back down. He was grateful that she had forgiven him for how he had behaved the past few days and was not about to argue with her now. He would have another chance to thank the queen that saved him. Perhaps he could go with Rum Tum Tugger to meet her sometime. He just needed to let her know how grateful he was to her. He owed her his life after all.
But for now, he would simply rest.
He took one of Jemima's paws and kissed it.

"I love you."

"I love you, Misto."

She laid her head on his chest.
Mistoffelees closed his eyes and listened to the beautiful sound of her purr.