"Are you fucking kidding me?"
Poucival was confused, to say the least. He didn't know where he was or what was happening, but that voice…he knew that voice. He knew…
"Tumbles?"
The world came into focus. He was in the kitchen in his apartment, and standing in front of him was his tomfriend. His beautiful tomfriend! But how?
Pouncival tried to run to Tumblebrutus, but no matter how he ran, he couldn't get any closer. He cried out in frustration. "What is this?"
Tumblebrutus looked disgusted. "You're an idiot," he snarled. I'm dying in the hospital-"
"You're not-"
"-and you just decided to fuck my doctor. Awesome, Pouncival. That's just great."
Pouncival shook his head. He had no clue what to say. "I- I'm sorry."
Then, Tumblebrutus lashed out. "You're damn right, you're sorry! You're a sorry excuse for a tomfriend, Pouncival. Oh, I swear to the Everlasting Cat."
Pouncival was trying once more in vain to reach Tumblebrutus. "Please," he begged. "Just let me…"
"Touch me?" Tumbebrutus scoffed. "You could, if you'd go to the hospital."
"But-"
"How long has it been? A week? Two?"
"But-"
"Oh, that's right!" Tumblebrutus laughed. "You can't go back, because that would be awkward, wouldn't it?"
"I didn't mean to!" Pouncival cried. "I swear, I was drunk!"
"That's just it, though! You were drunk! You went out and got so drunk off your ass that you went ahead and slept with your comatose tomfriend's doctor. Real class act, Pouncie. It's like you've learned nothing."
"What?"
"A drunk cat killed me, Pouncival."
"That's not true. You're not dead. You're not going to die."
"Wake up, Pouncival."
Pouncival gasped, sitting straight up in bed. It was the middle of the night, and he was in his room at his mother's house, bathed in a cold sweat. He took a few deep breaths. It was only a dream. It was only-
His cell phone rang on his bedside table.
He saw the clock, first. It was a quarter to two in the morning.
Then, his eyes adjusted to the bright screen of his cell phone. Jenny was calling him.
Pouncival hadn't driven a car in ten weeks. The last thing he wanted to do was get behind a steering wheel, but there wasn't enough time to call a cab, especially not at two in the morning. Luckily, adrenaline is a powerful drug, and after weeks of constantly riding back and forth, he knew the way to the hospital better than he knew his own home. Still as he drove, the road seemed to stretch longer and longer.
It took him twenty-two minutes to reach the hospital and another one to reach Tumblebrutus' room. He was stopped outside the door when Jenny caught him in her arms and pulled him into a hug. "It's okay," she said. "He's stabilized, for now."
"For now?" Pouncival whispered. He glanced around, just trying to make sense of the situation. "Where's Skimble?"
"He's gone to get Electra."
"Why?"
"Just in case."
"This isn't happening."
Pouncival slumped down onto the floor, back against the wall. He stared at the speckled floor tile in front of him, but he didn't see it. He couldn't see anything except a fading vision of the last time he saw his tomfriend awake.
They were at that damn stoplight, and Pouncival glanced over, just for a second. No reason. Tumbebrutus was leaning back against the passenger's seat, tapping out the rhythm of the song on the radio on the car door. It was just a simple moment. Pouncival wouldn't have thought anything about it. He would have just forgotten about it and gone on with his life. He and Tumblebrutus would have gotten home, watched something on TV. Tumblebrutus would have been around for Pouncival's birthday. Maybe Pouncival would have slept with him instead of his doctor. Who knows? The possibilities were endless.
Except they weren't, because, moments later, the light turned green. Their last conversation:
"Why is all music shit, these days?"
"I don't think it's so bad."
"Yeah, well, I guess it- Oh, shit-"
Pouncival shuddered. Tumblebrutus had seen that car coming. He wondered what he must have thought. Did he know what was about to happen? Was he scared?
Pouncival was snapped out of his reverie when the door to his tomfriend's room opened, and out walked the last cat he wanted to see, at the moment.
"May I see him, Doctor?" Jenny asked, blissfully unaware of the suffocating tension that just cropped up in the hallway.
"Yes, of course," Dr. Felixtel said softly.
Jenny rushed in to see her son, leaving the two toms alone in the hallway.
"Pouncival-" Felixtel began.
"Just tell me what's going on and…leave it at that," Pouncival mumbled, reluctantly pulling himself off the floor.
The doctor took breath, as Pouncival actively avoided meeting his eyes. "His body is shutting down."
Pouncival closed his eyes, momentarily unable to breathe. When he opened his eyes again, the doctor had gone, and he was alone.
He came to the conclusion that being alone really sucked.
Every step it took to get into the room felt like he was walking on hot coals, but he had to see his tomfriend.
When Pouncival saw Tumblebrutus in the hospital for the first time, it had been a jarring experience. This time was just as much, but in a different way. The first time, Tumblebrutus had been barely recognizable through his injuries. This time, he looked just like himself, but it wasn't him. It was his body, hooked up to an IV, a heart monitor, and a ventilator. It felt more like a dream to Pouncival than his dream had. It was like Tumblebrutus was there in his dream, but not in the hospital room.
Jenny and Pouncival looked at each other, both completely empty. Moment later, Skimbleshanks and Electra darted into the room.
It was a long night at the hospital, just waiting for something to happen. Jenny and Skimble stepped out of the room for a bit. Pouncival could hear them crying. For a while, Pouncival laid his head down next to Tumblebrutus and dozed off.
Eventually, morning came, and Dr. Felixtel returned. "Have you made a decision?" he asked Jenny and Skimble.
Gripping his mate's paw tightly, Skimble answered, "We…don't want to prolong the inevitable. It is inevitable, right?"
The doctor sighed. "I'm afraid so."
Pouncival couldn't believe was he was hearing. He wanted to protest, but he couldn't remember how to make words.
Felixtel cast a quick, awkward glance at Pouncival. "I'll give you time to say goodbye."