Chapter 5 – Morning After (just a short bit of fun)

"Good morning," Artie whispered to the blond as she peeked through the swinging door into the living room area of the varnish car. Sunlight was slanting bright rays of light through the windows causing Artemus to squint up at her. Her golden hair, hanging loose over one shoulder, glowed with the light as she stepped through the doorway. He pointed toward the couch and whispered again, "he's still sleeping."

Lori looked over at the couch, curious, but reached down to take the steaming cup of coffee offered. "How can he sleep through coffee?" she whispered, "It's what woke me. I was so comfy in that bed."

"You like our train better than the public one?" Artie leaned back in his chair, grinning up at her. "This can spoil you pretty fast. You will be ruined for life."

"This is a wonderful way to travel," she said, sipping the coffee. "Would you like help cooking breakfast? I'm good with scrambling eggs and burning toast."

Artie winced, shaking his head. He nodded toward the couch again. "When he wakes up, I'll cook some breakfast. I don't want to wake him if he's sleeping. He'll be grouchy enough sleeping on that short couch."

"What if I wake him?" She winked at Artemus and, turning with her mug, tip toed over to the couch. She paused behind the tall back to look down onto the sleeping form. She sipped her coffee and looked at Jim's bare feet, resting on one arm rest of the couch. Jim's head was on a pillow from his bed, twisted and wedged against the opposite arm rest. The middle of his body was covered with a thick blanket, except for his bare shoulders and back. Lori leaned over to peek at him closer, almost pouring coffee on him as she tipped her hand.

"Go away," Jim growled, his eyes still shut.

"If you're awake," she laughed, poking him in the side through the blanket, "you should just get up and drink some coffee with us. Your partner won't cook my breakfast if he thinks you're sleeping. I think he spoils you."

"I'm still sleeping," Jim said, an angry edge coming to his voice. "Go back to bed." The blanket moved by his chest and the small, grey, furry face of a kitten peeked out, looking up at Lori the round, dark eyes. The kitten's ears suddenly tipped back and it hissed angrily.

"Oh," Lori gasped, completely surprised, "that's a kitten. Why in the world do you have a kitten?" She reached over the couch to pat the fuzzy head and the kitten pulled back under the blanket. A tiny paw slide out and swatted at her hand. "Oh, fierce little thing, aren't you. Are you guarding Jim?"

"Stop," Jim growled again, "you're upsetting her."

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Lori said, walking back to Artie, who was watching from the table. "I give up. Your partner is lazy and has a vicious pet." She held her mug out and Artie refilled it. "He'll be mad when we drink all the coffee," she said over her shoulder toward the couch.

"It won't work," Artie laughed, "he knows I'll just make another pot. But I suppose I can cook breakfast now that he is officially awake." Jim groaned from the couch. "And be careful around that wildcat of his; she's a killer."

Jim moaned and sat up on the couch, holding the blanket around his waist. "Can't you people eat in the galley? This is my bedroom for a few days, after all." He picked up the kitten and held her in his open palms, speaking softly to her. "You should bite her; she isn't very nice. Bite her right in the toes." He put the kitten on the floor and stood up slowly, running fingers through his hair. He watched as the kitten bounced around his bare feet and then scampered to Artie.

"Come here, Sophie," Artie called, making squeaking sounds with his lips. He lowered a saucer of milk to the floor and the kitten knelt at its edge, licking the liquid. Artie patted the soft fur and pulled gently on the tiny tail. The kitten paused to look up at him, grey fur wet with white milk. "You're a mess, fuzzy. Maybe we should trim those whiskers." The kitten returned to the milk, the tiny tail twisting in the air.

"Why do you guys have a kitten?" Lori asked, as she watched the tiny animal.

"Rumors got out that we saw a mouse in the galley," Jim sighed, "so we were given a cat to catch the mice. However, so far, she has only caught large bugs like butterflies and horse flies."

"Well I don't like bugs either," Lori said, "but I do like butterflies. Otherwise, kill them all, that's what I say." She paused to look up at Jim from her seat in the chair. Her eyes went from his bare feet, up the crumpled blue pants, to his bare stomach and chest. She suddenly leaned closer to him, squinting at his skin. "What are all those white marks on you?" She pointed toward his stomach.

Jim stifled a yawn and looked down at himself. "What?" He said, blinking sleep away. "Oh, those marks would be knife cuts, stabs wounds, and an occasional gunshot wound." He looked down at Lori, "they tend to leave a mark, you know." He ran a hand over his stomach, pulling at his skin as he looked at the various scars.

"Oh, that's awful," Lori said, leaning away from him. "You were shot? Ouch," she shuddered, "you should put a shirt on. Yuck." She turned back to her coffee.

Artie burst out laughing as Jim glared down at her. "Well, I would if I could get into my room. I forgot to remove clean shirts and …" he stopped to turn his glare onto his partner, as Artie laughed even harder, wiping his face with a cloth napkin.

Suddenly Christian came out through the doors and paused, looking at everyone. "Good morning?" she said slowly, "did I miss something? Your room is empty; did you just say you needed a shirt?"

"Thanks," Jim snapped, stepping past her, quickly disappearing down the hall.

"Sorry," Lori said, giggling, "I didn't mean to upset him but I have never seen anyone that has been shot before. Have you been shot too?" She paused, to hand her partner a cup of coffee.

Christian sat down quietly, looking at Artemus, her cobalt blue eyes wide with alarm. Her black hair was loose, framing her pale face in a tumble of dark waves. "Oh, tell me you haven't been shot," she whispered.

"Oh, now," Artemus said, shrugging, "that's a dark topic for such a sunny morning. Let's empty this pot of coffee and I will start breakfast cooking. Eggs and sausage were on the menu, if I remember correctly." He filled all the cups, pouring the last bit into his, just as Jim returned. "Sorry partner, I will have to make you a fresh pot."

Jim stood, yawning, as his fingers fumbled with his shirt buttons. He managed to get the two in the middle attached. Giving up, he sat down at the table, running a hand across his face. He looked at the two girls, "were you comfortable in my room last night?" They both nodded, sipping at their cups. "And now you're drinking all my coffee. Where's Sophie? She is supposed to be biting you. Useless cat," he said, leaning over to pat the kitten's fur. The saucer was empty so he scooped her up into his hands, holding her against his bare chest. The kitten wiped her wet face on his shirt front, leaving wet stains. "She was all messed up last night. I saw her sneak down the hall after everyone went to bed. She stood at my closed door looking all confused. I had to bring her out with me at the couch."

"Why didn't we see her last night?" Christian asked, looking at the kitten.

"She hides when we have guests," Artie said, "especially if the party gets loud."

"Do you have a lot of loud parties on this train?" Lori asked, smiling from Artie and back to Jim. "What do you two do when traveling? Just hang out, watching out the windows?"

"I read, invent things, work on the train," Artie said, rattling off his list of activities. "Cook, mend clothes, play my violin. We can keep busy."

"Planning for the case is the most important," Jim said, grinning, "and occasionally we pick up a couple of cute girls."

"Really," Christian said, as Artie choked into his napkin. "While the train is moving? And then what, dump them off a couple of towns down the line?"

"Sure," Jim said, sarcastically, "we give them a couple of bucks to ride back on the public train." Artie muttered something under his breath as he rose with the coffee pot and moved toward the galley. "But since we are stuck with you two, the trains already a bit crowded, so I guess we'll just stick to maps and diagrams and plan for your big case." He grinned, the dimples softening his barbed comment. "Maybe we can decide what to do today and then talk further about these special skills you have." He snorted, holding the kitten to his face. "What do you think, Sophie? A girl that knows martial art fighting skills or one who can become invisible." The kitten meowed at him, licking her rough tongue on the end of his nose. Jim looked back at the two women, who were glaring back at him, "Sophie doesn't believe either of you."

Christian rolled her eyes and stood, taking her mug with her, and moved to the galley. "Sophie is a show me kitten," Lori said, returning Jim's stare, "I can see it in her eyes. Maybe we can demonstrate a few tricks after breakfast." Jim sighed and shook his head as Sophie meowed in agreement.

tbc