Cat and Mouse

Chapter 11

Expanding the Pack: Mare's Dilemma

A/N: wox-77 – glad you're liking the story; yes, better late than never.

Melodie568 – sorry, melodie about Tabby

FalconWolf3 – Hope your days are going better now that Ivan isn't circling around any more (Can't wait to see what you have Shelly and Lulu doing next!)

Furi15 – sorry, girl, I had to stop the funny chapters for awhile…

"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same."
Elbert Hubbard

Mare' struggled with her feelings of guilt while she was in the med-lab. She had finally told Emma the truth…

--"Emma, I'm sorry."—

--"Sorry for what."—

--"I know who killed Myra."—

--"What?"—

--"The drunk driver."-- Mare' was struggling with her feelings and keeping awake," was my mother. I left there because of her." Emma was stunned by this admission.

--"She beat me whenever she was drunk. She rots in jail now."— Mare' spit the sentence out with disgust and long held in pain.

Emma didn't know how to answer the girl, but she said soothingly, "We can talk about this later, Mare'. Right now you need to build up your strength."

Emma looked up the account of the accident and the drunk driver that Mare' said was her mother. The woman was charged with manslaughter and DUI. She had been sentenced to 15 years in jail, but she died 2 years ago of cirrhosis of the liver.

….

Shalimar and Emma had a long discussion about the events of the past few days, especially about Mare', the drunk driver, and Mare' thinking that they were pregnant.

"You'll have to tell her, Emma, so she doesn't have more guilty feelings," Shal looked over at her.

"Yeah, I know. I just don't know how to approach her with it, especially with Tabby still unconscious." Emma twirled her hair in frustration.

They each had their doubts about being pregnant. Shalimar insisted that she could only get pregnant if her feral side was in heat. Emma was privately worried about it. Unbeknownst to each other, they did get pregnancy kits to assuage each other's fears and doubts.

Emma did hers first about a week later, when she realized that she was about 10 days late for her cycle. She was excited at first when it was positive, but the events of the next few days pushed it out of her mind.

When Shalimar did hers, it came up negative…

The quiet of the night in Sanctuary's med-lab was shattered by the wail of the heart monitor on Tabby. Adam rushed into the room where Mare' was imploring Tabby to breathe and to not leave her. She was almost falling off the bed, reaching for Tabby's limp hand. Adam hurried over, calling on the com-ling at the same time: "Brennan, Jesse, Emma, Shalimar, Get to the lab on the double!"

He grabbed the paddles off the crash cart and turned it on to charge up. Brennan was the first to arrive, with Emma and Shalimar close behind, all in various states of dress and undress. "Mare', please stay back!" Adam commanded.

Brennan shot a tesla coil into Tabby's heart. The monitor continued to wail.

Adam yelled, "Clear!" and used the paddles on Tabby's chest. Shalimar went over to prevent Mare' from interfering. Emma grabbed the rescue-bag and started pumping air into Tabby's lungs.

A second jolt from Brennan stopped the wail as the monitor started its slow blip-blip when Tabby's heart restarted. A few seconds later, Tabby opened her eyes and brushed the rescue bag away from her face.

Mare' screamed, "Tabby!" Tabby smiled weakly at the sound of Mare's voice. The group looked up at Adam who nodded silently. They pushed the two beds together and the team retreated into the main med-bay.

Adam sighed heavily as he studied the monitors.

"What's wrong, Adam?" Emma asked.

"Tabby's heart is not going to take much more of this. It's up to her now. I've given her all the antibiotics, but I can only do so much."

Tabby hung in another week, fighting infection after infection. Her heart stopped several times and they brought her back every time. She had a small rally on the last day, where she seemed to be finally on the mend. She thanked everybody for helping her and then asked to be left alone with Mare' for a while. She slipped in under the blanket where Mare' was laying and they held each other. Mare' could sense that Tabby wanted to talk, but she was struggling with her words.

"Mare'?"

"Yeah, Tabbycat."

"I want you to promise me something."

"What is it?" Mare' heart was breaking because she kind of knew what was coming next.

"Don't let them zap me the next time…"

Mare' half-whispered back, "Please don't do this to me Tabbycat. I don't want you to leave me."

Silence followed as Mare' and Tabby snuggled close. Tabby looked up and smiled at Mare'. "You've given me the best year of my life. I probably would have died on the streets if you would not have taken me like a stray cat. You believed in me and encouraged me to grow. You gave me love, strength and confidence."

Tabby kissed Mare's undamaged cheek. "I lived a very hard life before I met you. My parents couldn't control me. I didn't want to be controlled. I left home when I was thirteen. I walked the streets. I shot up. I did a whole lot of things to abuse myself. I even got pregnant a few times. I miscarried each time though. I couldn't image what I would have done with a baby back then." Tabby absently stroked Mare's face. "Can you forgive me for one thing? I lied about my name. Tabitha isn't my real name. It's Rebecca Jordan. I used Tabitha on the streets."

Mare' answered her quickly, "You'll always be my Tabbycat."

Tabby hugged her. "Mare', just hold me a while longer. Please…" Tabby's voice trailed off. Mare' gasped thinking Tabby's heart had stopped again, but she had just fallen asleep. Mare' leaned over as best as she could and kissed Tabby on the forehead. She soon fell asleep herself too.

Emma found them that way about an hour later. She checked Mare's splints first, adjusting the pressure levels. Then she checked Tabby. No pulse. She reached over to pick Tabby up, but Mare' grabbed her wrist to stop her. "No Emma. She wanted it this way." Mare's eyes were bright with unshed tears as she kissed Tabby once more. "I felt her stop breathing a short time ago. She asked me to hold her."

Emma teared up herself, remembering holding Myra the same way 3 months ago. Had it been only 3 months? A lot had happened in the interim.

She called on her com-link, "Adam? Shalimar? Can you come to the med-bay please?" Her voice cracked a little at the end. She reached up to brush Mare's hair out of her eyes. She knew that the next few days were going to be difficult for Mare', being a telempath too. She wasn't going to let Mare' go through it by herself though.

Adam walked in then. "Emma, what is it?" He saw Tabby's still form and ran over. "No pulse. How long has she been…."? He trailed off when Mare' grabbed his wrist.

"Adam, no! She wanted it this way. No heroics. No more zaps." Mare' was suddenly struck with the loneliness of it all: Tabbycat was gone forever! Half of her was content; half of her was numb.

Shalimar walked in and was bowled over by the emotions coming from Mare'. She was reminded of the day at the manor house when Myra died and they almost lost Emma over it. "Is Tabby..?" She couldn't finish the sentence in front of Mare' who started to whimper quietly, both in pain from her body and her heart from losing Tabby.

Emma pulled Shalimar aside. "Shal, Mare' doesn't need to be by herself right now, and Adam needs to take care of Tabby. Our bed's the biggest. Can we take her there? Then you, me and the twins will always be there." Shalimar look vacant for a second at Emma's request. "Remember how I was…" Shalimar nodded and went off to find the wheelchair.

Adam helped them settle Mare' into the wheelchair. "Call me if you need anything. Mare' I'm sorry about Tabby. Oh, wait a minute." He went to a drawer and pulled some items out. "Mare, I want to sleep for a couple of hours at least. Take this when you get settled." Mare' reached up and hugged Adam hard.

"Thank you, Adam."

Shalimar wheeled the chair to their suite, while Emma ran ahead to get the bed straightened up. She brushed tears from her face, and then poured a glass of juice from their little fridge.

"Mama, what's wrong?" Jori and Chessy ran in from their room. She knelt down to hug them.

"Sweeties, Tabby just died. Mare's going to be here in our room for a little while, because she doesn't need to be alone." The two girls were quiet. "Can you play quietly here on the floor? You can take your napes there to, if you want to."

"Alright, Mama." Jori said.

"Slumber party!" Chessy cried.

They ran to get a few toys and their pillows and blankets. Shalimar wheeled Mare' in with Brennan and Jesse on her heels. The boys transferred Mare' to the center of the bed without making her wince. Emma tucked some covers over her friend, and handed the glass of juice over, "Drink up. We'll be right here. We won't leave you along." She waited while Mare' swallowed the few pills that Adam had given her earlier.

Mare' absently patted along side her and looked at Emma and Shalimar. "Hold me," and she burst into gut wrenching tears. Emma and Shal didn't hesitate and both reached out to hold Mare'. Even Jori and Chessy came up and lightly patted her unsplinted leg. Mare' soon subsided into hiccups and quieter tears as the medicine took over, and then soon she was asleep.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief then, because Mare' also stopped broadcasting her grief as she fell asleep. Her grief made Emma aware of her underlying grief over Myra.

Emma told Mare' about Myra the next time she was awake. Both of them cried over their best friends, but it was healthy tears, healthy healing tears.

They buried Tabby on the hillside beside Myra's grave. Mare' only asked that a poem be said. She didn't want any more fuss than that over her Tabby. The grave marker was simple: Rebecca Jordan "Tabbycat". They left her alone a few minutes after Adam read the poem:

Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I did not die
.

It was an old American Indian prayer, that spoke many words of comfort and promise to Mare'. She knew even if her injuries were serious that she still had a place to stay with them. Star had decided to go into the Underground after her ribs healed. She didn't want to go back to New Orleans and start over either. Mare' reminded herself that there were plenty of other things she could do to help out, in exchange for everything they had done for her, Tabby and Star. She knew she could just sit back and let her body heal, but she wanted to be involved. She felt useless otherwise.

TBC