Sorry for the delayed update, but I simply haven't had the time necessary to get my latest works uploaded. So, for those few of you who actually read this blurb, it's time for another chapter.
Chapter 35: The Aftermath
Oh Fara…if only circumstances were different. But you deserve better… - Fox
Many an hour later Fara awoke with a start once more, but unlike last time, she knew exactly where she was. Swiveling her head in momentary panic, she hoped against hope that Fox was still there. Much to her surprise he was, a tired look in his eyes as he simply sat there looking at her.
Little did she know that he had woken up only minutes earlier, and was trying to shake off the aftereffects of sleep himself.
"Good morning, Fara," he said, trying his best to keep from yawning. "Sleep well?"
"Yeah," she responded after a few seconds. "Have you been…" She quieted, feeling bad for asking the question in the first place.
He smiled, feeling sorry for the vixen. "I've been here all night. It's been a quiet one as well." At least he assumed the last part was correct anyway. He was generally a light sleeper, so if anybody did come by, he should have woken up. It sounded good to her ears though, even if it wasn't entirely the truth.
"Oh Fox…" She lay there stunned, not sure what to say, and looked up into his face. "You didn't—"
"Yes I did," he interrupted. "As I've said before, Fara, you're part of the team now, and always will be. It was the least I could do."
She sighed, amazed that he had stayed up all night for her. Nobody would have done something like that for her. Nobody. Her mind in turmoil, thinking back to what happened last night, she said the first thing that came to mind. "What time is it?"
Fox leaned forward and blinked as his tired eyes adjusted to distance viewing. "Well, the clock says it's a few minutes after 7am."
At that moment, the door to the side office opened. It revealed Devan with a giant yawn plastered upon his face, stretching as he prepared to get back to work. "Morning, you two. Did I miss anything?"
"Not at all," replied Fox. "Have you been asleep the entire time in there?"
"Me? Oh gosh no." He laughed as he walked over to the terminal and powered it up with a few keystrokes. "Zhen would have my head if I slept through my entire shift without doing anything. I've been working in the office for the last few hours, actually. I didn't want to risk waking Fara by coming out, so…"
"Thanks," said the vixen, grateful that she hadn't been woken up. It was bad enough being where she was asleep as far as she was concerned, much less awake. "Along the same lines, can you let me out of this?"
Devan shook his head sadly. "As I told you last night, I simply don't have the authority." He walked over to where she lay as he continued. "However, I can take a look at you and see how your healing has progressed. It'll get you out of there quicker at least."
She nodded, eager to do anything so that she could get free sooner. "Please do."
He took a look at the monitor attached to the side of the regeneration tank, a visual representation of her body slowly scrolling down the screen. It paused at points, showing how well the healing had progressed on the burnt and damaged fur. Fox stood up and was about to approach to take a look himself when the hare stopped him. "Sorry, Fox, medical personnel only."
"What's wrong?" asked Fara, suddenly concerned.
"Nothing's wrong," said Devan, powering down the screen, pleased with the results. "As far as this shows, you're as good as new. But as to why I can't show this to anyone else, let's just say that it's a tad revealing."
She blushed, or at least blushed as much as one could through a thick layer of fur. Fox noticed the discomfort on her face and decided to ruffle her headfur in response. "But you're okay, Fara. That's all that counts."
"Yeah."
The hare smiled as he walked back to the terminal sitting on the lone desk. "Contrary to what you think however, the software prohibits me from looking at certain things. So your modesty is perfectly safe."
Fox looked like he was going to make a joke, but after a glance at Fara's expression, he decided otherwise. Instead, he looked over to Devan as he asked, "Any guess as to when Zhen will be in?"
The medic shook his head. "Zhen comes in of her own accord, not on any set schedule. She'll be here sometime in the morning though."
"Okay." After taking a moment to stretch, Fox moved his seat back into position next to Fara and sat down once more. He hoped the wait wasn't too long, as there were a few natural things he needed to take care of. But he didn't want to leave the vixen's side, even for a moment, to do them. Instead, he looked at her and said, "So, what do you want to talk about next?"
She closed her eyes, deep in thought. With Fox right next to her, she was no longer afraid of her situation. She couldn't explain it though, making her wonder if she simply trusted the vulpine, or if there was something deeper running between them.
"Are you okay, Fara?" asked Fox, concerned over the silence.
"I'm fine," she replied, looking over at the worried pilot. She didn't have any further time to think as the doors leading out suddenly opened. Unable to see who it was from her angle, she hoped for the best as she asked, "Who's that?"
A quick glance over his shoulder answered the question. He stood up and turned towards the visitor as he responded. "It's Zhen."
Fara visibly brightened when she heard this, hopeful that she could finally end her time in captivity. "Thank goodness."
The two medics spent only a moment saying their greetings, the panda hardly pausing as she continued to her destination. Fox was about to say something as she approached, but he was silenced as she raised a paw and shook her head. "About last night," she started as she blinked her eyes tiredly, "I'm sorry. I let my anger overrule my judgment, endangering both of you and the quality of your medical care."
"That's an understatement," muttered Fara quietly, but more than loud enough for everyone to hear in the silent room.
Fox winced as he heard this, even though it was basically the truth. "Fara…" he said, looking at her once more.
"She has every right to say that, Fox," said Zhen as she reached the regeneration tank and walked around to where the screen was. "She should be angry, as should you."
"Damn right I am," said the vixen, closing her eyes as if ending the discussion.
Looking over the two females, Fox simply shook his head. While he knew that both of them were correct in what they were saying, he simply didn't want to get involved. "How does she look?" he asked, trying to change the subject.
Zhen tapped through the screens and looked through the data, keeping quiet as she did so. She finished half a minute later, powering down the monitor with a flourish. Looking as pleased as Devan did earlier, she said, "Once again, Cornerian medical technology shines through. All injuries have been fully healed, and the fur around the damaged areas has regrown properly. You're free to go."
"About time," said Fara angrily, the growing smile on her face betraying her true feelings. While she still held a grudge, she was just pleased she was finally going to get out of there.
"Good to hear," said the vulpine. He stood there and wondered what going to happen next, quickly noticing all eyes in the room suddenly converge upon him. "What?"
Devan laughed as he stood up from behind the desk and walked over to Fox. "I think the proper term here is called privacy. Let's step out for a bit."
As he was being led out, Fox turned to take one last look at Fara. Their eyes locked, he not knowing if he should leave her, while she didn't want to see him go. "I'll be fine," she said upon noticing his worry. "I'll catch up with you guys later."
"Okay. See you then."
As the sliding glass door closed behind the males, Fox watched as a thick curtain dropped around the two regeneration tanks and hid the others from view. The hare interrupted his thoughts as he finally turned away. "You're one lucky guy there, Fox."
He looked over, a confused look on his face. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Devan was taken back, as he was sure about them being a perfect pair. He quickly adjusted what he was going to say. "Well, nothing really, short of how you have such a cute teammate there." At the silence he was getting he continued. "Almost makes me wish I was a vulpine myself."
Fox didn't know quite what to say in response. While he knew he had feelings for Fara, it wasn't something he wanted to readily admit. Not only was there the war to worry about, but deep down he knew that she deserved far better than what he could offer in return. His mind raced as he tried to figure out what to say. "Yes, that she is," he finally said as he turned to leave. "If you'll excuse me."
"Sure." As the vulpine left, Devan looked on, shocked at what he had just seen. He would have easily bet a large chunk of his salary on the pair getting together. At a loss as to what he should do about it, he looked around, deciding to clean up the waiting area while he waited for the females to finish up in the other room.
His mind a jumbled mess after his latest conversation, Fox walked the short distance to his room and thought over what had been said. He was surprised that his feelings for Fara were so apparently obvious to anyone who looked at them both, even though he had no intention on following up on them himself. As far as he was concerned, she deserved better than anything he could provide.
After taking a quick break inside, he stood out in the hallway, writing a mental list as to the things he needed to do today. He didn't get far however, as he was interrupted by a rumbling of his stomach, a reminder as to just how long it was since he last had a proper meal. Wasting no further time, he decided to once again follow his instincts.
Entering the mess hall and quickly gathering a meal covering the basics, he looked around for a seat. To his surprise he found the rest of his team already sitting down, as if they were waiting for him the entire time. Pulling up a seat himself, he said his greetings and dug into his meal without another word.
Noticing how he ravishingly dug into his breakfast, his team kept quiet as he ate, waiting until he was finished before they said anything. Fox was grateful for the silence, as he wasn't exactly in the mood to talk anyway.
But talk they finally did as he finished up and pushed his empty plate away from him. Peppy was the first to speak as he put down the datapad he had in one paw. "So, Fox, how did things go last night?"
The vulpine sighed, knowing that he was going to be questioned about this. He wasn't exactly in the mood to give out answers either. "It went well all things considered."
Peppy could clearly see the hesitation in his answer. He wondered why as he continued, trying to get a more definite answer. "How's Fara doing?"
"She's fine. The medics released her a few minutes ago, actually."
The team's spirits visibly rose upon hearing that, as they were all worried about her condition. "Good to hear," said Slippy as he joined in on the conversation. "I was worried."
"As were we all," said Peppy.
"Thankfully, she'll be okay. It was a most interesting night though."
"What did you two do?" asked Falco, finally deciding to say something.
Fox had a confused look on his face. "Huh?"
The avian grinned. "You know what I mean. You and Fara."
His confusion quickly turned to anger. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"
Peppy was in the middle of a drink as otherwise he would have stopped this conversation, as he could clearly see where it was going. "I've seen the looks you've given her in the last few days," said Falco, now smiling slyly. "You two alone with each other would be the—"
"You insolent, pig-headed fool!" roared Fox as he jumped to his feet, his chair tumbling to the floor in the process. "All I did was help a teammate in need! What you think of my personal life is none of your damned business!" He turned and stomped off, ignoring the gaping onlookers from the tables around him.
"What did I say?" asked Falco as the mess hall returned to order.
Peppy looked over, trying to determine if the avian was actually honest in his question, or if he was just as senseless as he looked. He eventually came to the conclusion of the latter. "Do you have any tact at all in that head of yours?" he asked, shaking his head.
Before a response could be heard, Slippy added in his own rude thoughts. "In other words, you're an idiot."
Falco stood up and moved to strangle the offending voice. Peppy raised a paw, his feathered teammate surprisingly coming to a stop as he listened to what was said. "Falco, sit down. Slippy, quiet, as you aren't helping one bit."
"Why should—"
"Sit down," he commanded. The hare sighed as his orders were followed, knowing that even with his air of authority, he wouldn't be listened to for long. "Seriously, Falco, you know better than that. What's cardinal rule number four?"
His head turned, staring in disgust at being in this position. "What's your point?"
"My point is simple. Rule number four, as you've obviously forgotten, is that what we do in our personal lives is our own business, and nobody else's." He paused, remembering why Fox had used that as one of his ground rules back on Papetoon. With their lack of privacy, it was determined that each other's rooms were off limits – thus having some peace of mind in allowing the four of them to get away from each other.
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Falco, already tired of being reprimanded. "But what's up with him about Fara?"
"That, my friend, is a good question." Peppy looked around, glad to see that that those who were in the mess hall had finally decided to go back to their business, talking softly to those nearby, ignoring the pilots in the process. "Why don't we just leave him alone for the time being. This'll all sort itself out in the end. Let's just give Fox some time to explain it himself, okay?"
"Deal."
Completely disgusted by Falco's conversation, Fox stormed out, wanting nothing more than to simply run off and get away from everybody. A few passers-by stared at him in surprise, but he didn't care about what others thought of him at that moment. All he wanted to be was alone.
And short of his room, he knew of only one place where he could get some peace and be allowed to relax.
The door to the botanical gardens opened up for him a few minutes later, his anger starting to drain away as soon as he entered. Taking only a moment to look out into the morning sky, he worked his way to the giant tree in the center, the one that he remembered to be Fara's favorite as well. He sat down upon the soft grass and leaned against the tree, feeling the rough bark press against his fur.
He closed his eyes and relaxed, letting the calming sounds and soothing smells fill his thoughts. As he sat there, he thought back to the events that transpired earlier in the day, trying to figure out what had upset him so much. It didn't take long before reminders of Falco's arrogant attitude filtered through his mind, in addition to how sure Devan was with his beliefs of them getting together.
But why did it anger him so? The avian acting like he did was nothing new to him, even though it still irritated him just the same. He also didn't know enough about the medic to know if what he saw was an indication of how he generally was around people.
As he continued to think, his mind focused on what was ultimately the problem – Fara. It seemed that the general populace of the base had them pegged together, even though he ultimately didn't want anything to do with her as far as a personal relationship went. The only problem was that he couldn't figure out why he felt that way.
He opened his eyes as his thoughts continued to swirl through his mind, trying to figure out why. Glancing around the garden, his gaze happened to fall upon a small bright red bird, hopping around on the ground only a few feet away from him. Carefully, he put out a paw and tried to see if he could coax the animal closer to him.
The creature looked at his light brown paw, tilting its head sideways in thought. Fox guessed that it was trying to determine if it was looking at food or not. It advanced wearily, restricting its hops to make sure it didn't come too close. Stopping about a foot away, it suddenly let out a few chirps of either surprise or agitation and promptly opened its wings, launching itself into the air.
The vulpine watched sadly as it flew out of sight, almost wishing that he could join it in its travels, even though its freedom was restricted to just the garden. Closing his eyes once more, he returned to his thoughts, trying to formulate an answer to his original question.
Time passed, Fox drifting in and out of sleep as his tired body rebelled against the lack of a decent sleep the previous day. As he slept, he dreamed, his unconscious mind still attempting to track down an answer. In the middle of one dream, he began to toss and turn, having more of a nightmare than a peaceful rest.
He was reliving the death of his mother once again.
With a gasp, he jolted awake, trying desperately to clear his mind of the horrible memories. As he looked around, trying to focus his gaze upon something that would invoke far happier images, he suddenly came upon the conclusion he'd been searching for. And he had his latest dream to thank oddly enough.
James McCloud had not only been an excellent pilot in his days, but an outstanding marksman as well. Because of this and his discreet ways of doing things, he'd been called upon for a few unorthodox missions over the years, ones that would have been more suited to someone who'd worked in a special operations group, or possibly a commando.
Thankfully, Corneria, and the surrounding planets in the system, had a low crime rate, as otherwise he would have been called upon far more often than he had. As it was, he'd looked upon it as supplementary income for his family, as being in the military wasn't a very well paying job, as it was never needed. At least until now, anyway.
As a result, he'd made a few enemies in the process. To Fox's knowledge, it had never amounted to anything more than idle threats. The family as a whole was a bit more guarded of their surroundings, and one of his parents was always around him when he was younger, but other than that nothing had ever come from it.
Until the day that Vixy died.
Now he understood why he felt how he did towards Fara and why he didn't want to advance further with her as far as a relationship went.
It wasn't the war holding him back. It was how he knew that him winning the war would create permanent enemies across the system from those who wanted Andross to come out on top. And he simply didn't want the vixen to end up like his mother did.
But he couldn't let her out of his sight either. An attempt had already been made on her life, her freedom, so it was very possible that somebody else would try again. He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let that happen.
He just didn't know what he should do about her as far as his thoughts went in the meantime.
The vulpine stretched as he stood up and broke out into a huge yawn in the process. He turned towards the giant windows letting in the sunshine and tried to judge how long he'd been sitting there, eventually guessing that it was sometime around noon or so. A slight rumble from his stomach seemed to confirm this as well.
Collecting his thoughts and brushing off some of the dirt that he'd accumulated, he was about to leave when he heard the lone entryway slide open and closed. Curious as to the newcomer, he looked over, a smile coming to his face as he recognized whom it was.
"Afternoon, Fox," said Fara cheerfully as she spotted the vulpine and walked over to where he stood.
"Hey, Fara," he responded, noticing rather quickly that she wasn't dressed in anything resembling her usual flight garb. Instead, she had ditched her uniform for a purple sleeveless shirt and shorts. He ignored her new look as best he could, even though it left little to the imagination, as he continued. "How are you feeling?"
She spun around and smiled as her fur rippled from her movements. She had taken the time necessary to comb through her coat, and as a result it almost shimmered in the afternoon light. "As good as new thanks to your help."
He shook his head, still believing what he told her earlier. "As I've told you before, it was nothing that—"
She playfully poked him in the chest a few times as she didn't believe that line at all. "Don't give me that, you silly." Noticing Fox's wandering eyes as he tried to counter her statement, she figured that she might as well explain her unusual choice of clothing. "Curious as to my outfit?" she asked with a grin.
His gaze snapped upward as he replied, trying to hide his looks. "What you wear in your off time is none of my concern. It is unlike you however from what I've seen."
She nodded. "The medics told me to keep myself uncovered as much as possible for the next few days, to make sure that nothing interfered with the last of the healing process. My fur is still tender in a few spots."
"Ah," he said, as if that explained everything on his mind. "Thankfully nobody is going to be flying for a few days, so you have nothing to worry about."
She sighed suddenly, her good mood vanishing as she continued. "Actually…I wanted to talk to you about that. You have a minute?"
Fox grew concerned, wondering what was on her mind. "I always have time for my teammates. What's up?"
She seemed to look everywhere but at him, as if she was afraid of what she was going to say. "It's…about the team."
"What's wrong?"
"I…I…" She stuttered to a stop, unable to continue.
He didn't like where this conversation was going at all. "Fara, if something's wrong between you and the group, I can easily talk to them. And if that isn't the problem, don't worry, you can tell me. I won't be offended."
Her sad eyes finally came to a rest upon his own. "I…I want off the team."
"What?!"
She repeated what she said, this time with more assurance of what she wanted to do. "I want off the team."
"Why?"
"I'm no good, Fox, incase you haven't noticed."
"That's a bunch of bull and you know it."
She began to grow upset as she didn't want to explain herself, unable to believe that he couldn't see it her way. "I've blown up an Arwing and almost wrecked another!"
"Neither of which were your fault," he quickly countered.
"I'm a threat and a danger to you and your mission, and I put you at risk every time I fly with you guys!"
"No you don't. You're an excellent pilot, and I'm proud to have you on my team."
Her anger was near the boiling point as she simply couldn't understand why the vulpine continued to disagree with her. "Why do you need me then?"
"Because we're behind the times as far as the system itself goes, and only you have that knowledge. And contrary to what you think, you're an outstanding—" Tired of how she wasn't getting anywhere in this conversation, Fara suddenly leaned forward and slapped Fox as hard as she could.
The vulpine stood there, utterly stunned at what she had just done. Refusing to degenerate to her level, he calmly lifted a paw to his face and smoothed the fur back to how it was. "Why did you do that?"
"You won't let me off the team!"
"Fara…listen to yourself. It's clear that you're not thinking—"
Frustrated by how she wasn't getting her way, she proceeded to slap him once more. This time around however, Fox was waiting for her. In one smooth motion, he grabbed her paw just inches from his face. "Please don't," he said quietly.
Instead, she brought her other paw around and followed the same maneuver as the first. It was caught just as easily before it made impact. Eyes widening in shock, she strained to pull free. "Let go!"
"Not until you calm down. I don't want to get hit again."
She continued to struggle, but Fox was simply too strong for her. "Let me go!"
"Can I talk to the calm and collective teammate I was speaking with a few minutes ago? Or the same one as last night? Please?"
She simply yelled in frustration.
Shaking his head sadly, he gave up on any chance of having a decent conversation. He just hoped that she would explain herself later. Waiting no longer, he let go of Fara's paws, the vixen almost tumbling to the ground from the sudden release. In response, she simply turned and stalked off without saying a word.
Fox watched as she left, wishing that she would at least attempt to explain her irrational behavior, or possibly apologize. In the end however, he got neither. "Why is nothing ever easy?" he silently asked the garden around him.
He dropped to the ground with a huff, ignoring another rumble from his stomach, as he attempted to figure out just what went wrong.
