Disclaimer: I don't own SWAT Kats, not the characters, not the plot, not the jet. Alex is my only orginal character.
Quick note about last chapter, I noticed after I posted it that I put in two names for Alex's mother Catherine and Abby. Abby is her name Abby Whitford her son's name is Alex Whitford just wanted to make that clear.
Thanks to my reviewers. I appreciate each one.
nyte-kat, I understand the whole no life thing. I read way to much fanfiction but some of it is just to good to remove myself from my computer. Also I don't mind badgering, I consider it constructive criticism.
Yami Maleci: Thanks for your review. You have a good base story as well. Don't be hard on yourself. I want to read more when you get it up.
The rest of the morning goes pretty smoothly. Alex has said what he needs to say and doesn't bring up the topic of our early morning conversation. In fact he seems to have forgotten about it completely as we banter lightly back and forth about the newest piece of junk that has been brought into the shop. We get a good mix here though. We are one of the best mechanic shops in the city and the people know it.
I slid out from under the car I'm working on and grin over at Alex who is elbow deep within the car beside me. He's intense when he's working and I have to respect him for it. He's also good with the customers. He takes care of their needs while I stay just out of site and under their cars where a good mechanic is supposed to be.
We have our regulars, the people who come in once a month or so to get their cars checked and tuned up. I know one of them, a pretty little she-kat named Rei has a thing for Alex. She's always in here flirting with him. I know he notices and we joke a little about it. She hasn't asked him out yet and I keep encouraging him to make the first move but I know he won't. He's like that, cool and collected, but terrible when it comes to talking to she-kats.
Alex finally stands and wipes his paws on the grease rag that's tucked into his belt. He glances over at me and grins.
"Done already Jake?" I nod.
"Just waiting on you to get finished so we can head to lunch." He laughs quietly and looks up at the clock.
"I didn't realize it had gotten so late. Let's get cleaned up and we can head down to the deli down the street." I nod again and a mischievous grin spreads across my face.
"Race you to the bathroom." He gets the same little grin and we take off. I'm just slightly faster and manage to beat him inside. I slam the door in his face and lock it. As I head toward the sink I can hear him chuckling good naturedly.
"I'll get you back Jake just wait till you come out of there." I smile to myself as I begin washing the grease off my paws and upper arms. The faint scar tissue on my wrists where the cuffs dug into my skin glares back at me and I reach into my pocket and pull out my wrist bands. When they are safely in place I walk over to the door and unlock it. Alex is waiting for me and just as I fully exit the bathroom he tackles me.
We roll around on the floor for a second until he manages to pin me. We are both grinning and breathing hard as he looks down on me. Suddenly I stiffen as I have a short flashback to my captivity. My body goes rigid for about two seconds and I can hear Alex scrambling off me as I snap out of it. Alex is looking at me with worried eyes as I shake my head to clear it.
"Jake?" He asks nervously. "Are you okay?" He extends his hand to help me up and I accept.
"It's okay Alex, I'm fine. I wasn't for a couple seconds but I am now." He looks relieved that I don't tell him I'm fine but I knew he would have read through the "I'm fine nothing happened" story in 1.3 seconds. He's a sharp kat who doesn't like to be lied to and I make it a point not to. He looks me over before giving me a friendly punch on the shoulder.
"Sorry about that Jake. I didn't mean to freak you out." This isn't the first time something like this happened to me around him. There was one time shortly after I arrived that I completely freaked out and started having a panic attack. I've gotten better even though I'm not seeing a shrink. I can just see myself walking into a doctor's office and saying "Doctor I was once the Swat Kat known as Razor. You see a couple months ago I was taken prisoner by a super-villain named Dark Kat because he thought he could use me because of my test scores when I was in school." Yeah, that's not happening any time soon.
As I've been thinking about these things Alex has been locking up the shop and I have been gathering my stuff. I head toward the front door and switch the sign so it reads "out to lunch back in an hour". Alex locks the door and we head down the street towards a little deli that Alex had introduced me to the first week I was in town. The food is heavenly and I was immediately hooked. We eat there then head back to the shop. Alex opens up as I head to the back to drop my keys and phone in my locker.
As I'm about to head towards the front when I hear the bell on the door jingle and Alex welcoming whoever our customer is. Something in my gut tells me to stay in the back for now and I make my way toward the office Alex and I share. It's a closed room with no windows but it shares a wall with the customer service portion of the garage so I can hear who Alex is talking to. I slip into my chair and pull out a stack of paperwork that needs finishing.
I hadn't planned to listen to Alex and the customer but I just can't help myself, I'm a kat after all and kat's are curious by nature. Anyway I found myself listening in and after a couple seconds I recognize who Alex is talking to and my heart just about stops. It's Chance. Why the heck he's in Breston I don't know and I have no intention of finding out. I listen a little closer and hear Chance asking Alex if he's seen me.
So he thinks I'm still alive and he's looking for me. That's a comfort and a curse at the same time. I'm not ready to go back yet. My life just started to return to something considered normal and there was no way I want another train wreck so soon.
Much to my relief Alex doesn't tell Chance about me. Then Chance asks if anyone else is working today and I feel panic start to set in. I can't let him find me here. Then Alex does something I didn't expect him to do, he straight out lies. He tells Chance that his partner Max went home early for the day. Something about not feeling the greatest. If I were out there now I would kiss him but my presence would kind of defeat the purpose of him lying now wouldn't it.
Chance sighs in defeat and I hear him speaking as he gets ready to leave. "If you hear anything let me know. I'll leave you a phone number and an e-mail. I'll be in town until tomorrow evening."
"I'll be sure to let you know if I hear anything." Alex calls as Chance makes his way to the door. The defeat in Chance's voice as he thanks Alex makes me want to run out and stop him but I force myself to remain still until I hear the jingle of the door telling me that he has left. When he's finally gone I can feel my control slipping and my hands start shaking. Before I know it silent tears are falling down my cheeks. Somehow I have enough control to move the papers out of the way before I cradle my head in my arms and start sobbing.
I don't hear Alex when the door to the office opens and he stands there watching me break down in silence. He knows how hard this is for me and waits for me to calm down a little before he enters and kneels at my side.
"I take it you heard our conversation?" I nod through my tears. "I'm sorry Jake. I know you weren't ready to face him. I hope what I said was okay." I stare at him as if he's just grown a couple extra heads.
"There was no way I could have faced him. Not right now, with no warning and no time to prepare myself. I'm lucky I didn't give myself away I was so high strung." Alex smirks at me as he studies me but the smirk quickly turns into a frown.
"You have to face him eventually. He misses you a lot Jake. I could tell and I only spent 5 minutes with him. He sounded so defeated out there. You didn't see him he looks like he's slept even less then you have."
I shudder as Alex describes the changes that Chance has gone through. I know that it's my fault that this happened to him. Try as I might though I can't convince myself to run out and look for him. He can't be far away. Heck I even have a phone number I could call him and have him meet me somewhere. Instead I look up at Alex.
"What if I go back and it happens again?" Now it's Alex's turn to stare at me like I've grown extra heads.
"What if what happens again Jake?" He asks in confusion. I take off one of the wrist bands and show him the damage to my wrist.
"This, what if it happens again? I wouldn't survive it again." The confusion changes to sympathy as Alex stands and walks behind me. Very gently he starts massaging my back and I relax.
"I understand Jake. I don't think I could have survived it the first time. You are a strong kat and I know if you can survive what you went through then you can survive letting your best friend know you are alive."
"I guess, but you still haven't answered my question. What if it happens again? I feel safe here. Dark Kat doesn't know I'm here. He isn't likely to find me either. If I go back it will be to the exact same situation that led to my capture in the first place. That's why I haven't gone back yet Alex. I'm scared to death it will happen again." Alex squeezes my shoulder in comfort and nods.
"I understand Jake. Let me say one thing though. You have to see Chance eventually but if you go back and decide you don't want to stay you can come back here. I'll have a job for you and I'll keep your apartment in decent shape until I know for sure what you decide to do." I stiffen for a second as I consider what he has said to me. It makes sense but I'm still nervous about it.
"Thanks Alex, I'll think about it. I appreciate you calming me down." Alex squeezes my shoulder again in to reassure me.
"That's all I wanted to hear." He abruptly changes the topic. I need to get back to work. I suggest you stay in here for the rest of the day and finish paper work. That way if Chance comes back you won't be out front." I nod and pull the paperwork back in front of me as Alex heads toward the door. I have a lot to think about.
That's all for this chapter. Thanks to my reviewers, I hope more keep coming and new people choose to review.
Next chapter will be up as soon as my brain tells my body that it's ready to write the next chapter. I'm doing this from scratch so my brain needs to be willing to write. The next chapter will be soon though I promise.