A/N: Sorry this took so long! I'm working on two stories at once, so I take turns updating them. Anyway, thanks to all my readers and reviewers! Though there are few of you, that doesn't mean I don't overlook you guys! Thanks and enjoy!
"Jenny! Jenny, wake up!" Jellylorum's peppy voice registered as a faint twitter in Jennyanydots' sluggish, waking mind. She felt her shoulder being gently shaken and the movement, along with the ever-present tweet of her friend's voice, annoyed her. Jenny swatted Jelly's paw away with an irritated groan and rolled over in her nest, indicating that she wanted to sleep. She had stayed up late enough last night with Skimble on the pier, and at the moment she didn't care how long she had slept in.
"C'mon, Jenny! Gus and I want to hear about your date! Wake up!" The brown and white tabby queen whined like an impatient kitten. Sometimes, more often than not, Jenny wondered if her friend had ever really grown out of the kit stage.
Deciding that the persistent Jellylorum wasn't going to leave her alone to sleep, Jenny yawned and blinked her eyes open. She rolled over again to face her grinning best friend with a scowl. Jelly merely patted her shoulder and greeted, "Good morning! I'll let you have breakfast and then you have to spill about yesterday!" When her request was accepted by another groan from Jenny, the brown and white queen bounded out of the den.
The yellow and orange tabby queen crawled out of bed and stretched before frowning at her parents. Breakfast was already underway between them; a steaming plate of mousecakes was laid out for her. Despite her negative countenance, Jenny's mother motioned to the untouched plate with a welcoming smile.
Jenny shuffled over and sat down with an unchanged expression. "Who let that in here? You know I hate being forced to wake up in the morning." She grumbled, taking a stab at a mousecake with her fork and shoving it into her mouth. Jenny jerked a thumb over her shoulder to indicate that she meant Jelly.
A light-hearted laugh emanated from her father's lips as he replied, "What was I supposed to do? Tackle her? You can't blame her for being excited. It was your first date, after all. May we be the first to hear how it went? Did Skimbleshanks behave himself?" His tone became more serious on the last phrase.
"Dad," the yellow and orange queen rolled her eyes with a sigh, "don't be absurd. You're too old to tackle anyone." Her voice became bored as she continued, "It wasn't that exciting. He showed me his home, which is in a cargo car, and then played his violin for me at the pier. He taught me to play a bit, and then he took me home. No big deal, it wasn't super romantic or anything. We're going out again tomorrow evening."
Jenny's parents eyed their daughter skeptically for a moment. Her father broke the silence that had settled over them. "He took you to his home? What's his family like?" He questioned curiously, but it sounded more like he was trying to interrogate the young queen.
The yellow and orange queen bit her lip. "Skimble…doesn't have a biological family. Coilin, the tom who helped Jelly and I, is like a father-figure to him, though. His home is very nice, much more…refined than ours." Her voice turned timid as she used her fork to toy with the half-eaten mousecake on her plate.
"I see. The boy's an orphan. Did anything…happen between you two?" The calico tom queried a bit awkwardly.
Jenny shot her father an appalled look, while her mother giggled behind her paw at her daughter's reaction. "No! Dad, that's disgusting! Skimble would never try something like that!" She denied furiously while heat rose to her cheeks. Why would her father even bring up such a subject?
Jenny's mother stopped giggling to place a paw on her daughter's. "We're just checking, dear. We don't want you to go off getting a mate without consulting us first. You know how tradition works here, right?" The elder queen said with an eyebrow raised expectantly.
The yellow and orange tabby queen nodded and recited the rule that had been hammered into her head since she turned eighteen at last year's Jellicle Ball. "I can't mate with a tom until both of us get a blessing from each other's parents, as well as our own. I know. Bast, I'm not even thinking about matehood right now. I just happened to get a tomfriend because of Jelly's brilliant idea to go to the train station." She said with heavy sarcasm laced into her voice.
"Oh, there's no need for sarcasm! Tradition is tradition and there's no getting around that. Speaking of tomfriends, when can we meet this Skimbleshanks? We'd like to know just who caught our daughter's fancy." Jenny's mother suggested, much to the displeasure of her daughter.
Jennyanydots shoved the last piece of her mousecake into her mouth to delay answering. There was only one problem with this: if the subject of work was brought up, she would be in deep trouble because Skimble didn't know she was training to be the next Gumbie Cat, and he didn't know she wasn't employed at the West London Veterinary Hospital. "Umm…Maybe…Skimble's just really busy with his own work and he barely has time for himself, let alone me. I'll let you know, okay?" She responded a bit hurriedly. Before her parents could comment on her sudden impatience, Jenny thanked them for the meal and briskly trotted out of the den. Her parents exchanged glances, but brushed the episode off, assuming she was in a hurry to tell Jelly about the date. The energetic brown and white tabby probably couldn't contain her excitement for much longer, anyway.
When Jenny emerged from her den, she found just who she was looking for. Jellylorum was waiting expectantly by the trash pile opposite the den. The brown and white queen had a wide, joyful smile plastered on her face. As Jenny came closer, Jelly pushed herself off of the pile she was leaning against and extended a paw to her friend. The yellow and orange queen took it, and Jelly immediately broke into a jog as she giggled jovially. Jenny sighed in a good-natured manner as they travelled to a more remote clearing.
Once they had reached a secluded area where Jelly was sure no one could hear them, she plopped herself down in the middle of it, consequently taking Jenny down with her. Jelly leaned forward with her ears pricked and hind legs crossed. "Okay, I want to know everything that happened yesterday with Skimble. Spill!" She demanded with an excited laugh.
Jennyanydots rolled her eyes as the same feeling she got whenever she talked about toms returned. She knew Jelly deserved to know, as this was originally her idea, but the words never came easily when she tried to gush about romance. "Skimble showed me his home, we went to the pier, and he played his violin for me. Then he taught me to play it a little bit and took me back home. We're going out again tomorrow." Jenny recounted for her enthusiastic friend in the same bored voice she had used with her parents.
Jelly's jaw dropped at her friend's tone. She straightened up and remarked, "Either you had a horrible date with Skimble, or you're just trying to annoy me by sounding like you were bored out of your mind last night."
The yellow and orange tabby queen frowned. "You should know me better by now, Jelly. I can't gush about stuff like you can. Skimble was really sweet and gentletomly and he's a magnificent violin player. I had a wonderful time, honestly. I'm just not used to being as excited about toms as you are, that's all." She mumbled, drawing abstract pictures in the dirt with her claw. The sun shone bright overhead, with little more than a few puffy clouds making their journey across the sky.
Jellylorum's brow creased in concentration as she thought of a way to make her best friend more enthusiastic. When she met Jenny's eyes again after a minute she asked cheekily, "What did you like best about the date? What was the most romantic thing that happened?"
This was a no-brainer for Jenny. She lips instantly curled up into a smile. "Skimble serenaded me with his violin. He sang a song for me and his voice was a good as Gus'. I'd say the most romantic thing Skimble did was teach me how to play his violin. He wrapped his arms around me and guided my paws with his. It was perfect." Jenny said dreamily, her eyes growing distant for a moment as she relived the memories in her mind.
"Aww, that's so cute! See, I told you that getting a tomfriend was a good idea! Look how much more relaxed and happy you've become! What are you planning to do tomorrow?" The brown and white tabby queen questioned with a smirk.
Jenny shrugged. "I don't know. I'm meeting Skimble in the evening, and I guess whatever he has planned will be a surprise."
"Ooh I bet it'll be something super romantic!" Jelly made to continue speaking, but pricked her ears as distant laughter was heard somewhere down the path. After a few more seconds, the laughter became significantly louder. It was clear that it was coming from two cats; one was deeper and the other was higher, which meant a tom and a queen were making their way to the clearing Jelly and Jenny now sat in. "Someone's coming! Hide!" Jelly squeaked as she grabbed her friend's paw and dove behind the nearest discarded dryer. They used an upturned box behind it to peer over the edge or out from the side.
As the pair of queens waiting in suspense and anticipation, the laughter reached its peak and they saw a silver tabby tom and a gold and black queen enter the clearing, chasing each other. Jelly shot Jenny a quizzical look and whispered, "What's Munk doing with Dem-"Before she could finish the name, the yellow and orange tabby queen clapped a paw over her mouth to silence her.
Munkustrap ran after Demeter, who obviously had something of his in her paws. It was a black book. Jenny squinted and realized it was Munk's songbook, the one that contained all the songs for the Jellicle Ball as well as some notes for choreography. The yellow and orange queen giggled inwardly. Dem was always stealing Munk's books to annoy him; she was like a big sister to him, though he was smitten with her. They were both eighteen, which made Demeter one year younger than her tomfriend Macavity.
The younger silver tabby was quickly gaining on his kitten-hood friend, as his stride was longer and he was much faster than she was. Munk tackled her from behind in an attempt to swipe his songbook back when he tripped over his own feet, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Jelly suppressed a giggle so she wouldn't blow her cover. When the dust cleared, the silver tabby tom was lying on top of Demeter, frozen in shock. The black and gold queen looked just as surprised herself. She still held the book in her outstretched paw, out of reach of Munk.
The two cats stared at each other for an agonizingly long moment, panting to catch their breath. That was the only noise in the otherwise still clearing. Gradually, Munk began to relax. He brought his head down slowly, gauging Demeter's reaction with his emerald green eyes. It was beyond Jenny why the black and gold queen wasn't reacting like she thought she should. Dem had a tomfriend! Why in Heaviside was she so accepting of Munkustrap's actions right now?
"Oh no…He's not gonna…?"Jelly peeped, leaning more and more out from the side of the dryer to get a better view. Just as Munk's lips were millimeters from Dem's, the brown and white tabby queen leaned too far out, lost her balance, and tumbled out from her hiding spot with a surprised shriek; right into full view of the pair of cats she had been observing.
Munk hastily scrambled off of Demeter and helped her up. Both looked as flustered as ever and Munkustrap was chuckling awkwardly. Once the silver tabby collected his thoughts he stammered, "Uhh…I-It's not what i-it l-l-looks like…We weren't-"
"-Yes you were!" Jelly interrupted in an accusing tone, "You were just about to kiss Dem! If Macavity hears about this, he's going to rip your head off, Munk! What were you thinking?" She appeared to be more worried about the aftermath than the actual event itself.
The young tom opened his mouth to speak, but shut it once more. He didn't have the words to explain himself so he just stared down at his hind paws, completely embarrassed. Demeter placed a comforting paw on his shoulder and assured him, "It's alright, Munk. I'm not angry at you for trying to kiss me. I understand how you feel about me, so it's not like I'm going to hold a grudge against you or anything. Here's your book back. See you later, okay?" With that she gently placed the little black book in his paws and left the clearing. Jenny and Jelly stared after her, dumbstruck themselves.
After a full minute of silence, Jenny remarked, "Wow…Dem was so cool about the whole thing. I would have expected her to flip out, but she handled that really maturely."
Munkustrap merely sighed heavily, muttered an inaudible goodbye, and scaled up and over a low trash pile. He was out of sight within seconds. Jenny and Jelly spent the rest of the afternoon practicing their dancing skills in the center clearing with their other friends, and chatting as they traversed the winding paths of the junkyard. It was on one of these paths at twilight that they witnessed something particularly disturbing.
The pair was on their way back home for dinner when they heard low, quick voices from the other side of a nearby trash heap. Experience told them that there was nothing but a path there that led to the fence. Jenny and Jelly ducked behind the aforementioned trash pile, out of sight of whoever was talking. They could see Macavity and three other toms conversing with each other inside the fence. Upon closer inspection, Jenny realized the unknown toms were the same ones that had assaulted her, Jelly, and Macavity in the alley before Skimble and Coilin rescued them. Their coats were slightly less filthy this time, however. She could barely make out that the leader was a tortoiseshell tom, the cat on his right was a black and white harlequin, and the last mangy feline was a red tabby. They were all as disgusting and pitiful as Jenny remembered them. The leader was the one who was talking to Macavity. It sounded more like hissing to the pair of queens secretly spying on them.
"We almost got caught because of you last time, Mac. I don't want to risk that happening again." The tortoiseshell tom informed the Jellicle Protector.
Macavity squared his shoulders and commented positively, "So move the meeting place then, Darrum. As I told you before, you don't have to stop doing business with me just because of one slip-up."
Darrum sighed and shook his head. "Moving the meeting place is not my concern. My concern is that we now have witnesses. Those two queens you brought with you know about us. Why didn't you let us kill them? It would have saved you a lot of trouble, Macavity." He elucidated in a tired voice. It felt like he was trying to explain something to someone who didn't understand English.
"Those two dumb wenches were Jellicles. I am the Jellicle Protector and those queens were my responsibility. I would have been exiled for letting you kill them. If they weren't Jellicles, I would have been more than happy to let you and your pals slaughter them! Plus, they don't know a thing about the drugs and I'm keeping a low profile about the whole incident. Nobody knows, Darrum! We can continue business as usual! I'll even pay you more if I have to!" The ginger tom's optimistic voice took on the slightest pleading essence.
The tortoiseshell tom rested his chin on his bruised, scabbed knuckles for a moment, weighing his options. He opened his mouth to speak, but the red tabby beside him answered instead. "No way! You're too risky to do business with now, Macavity! You don't know if those queens are going to spill to someone in your tribe. Find some other pot dealer because we're taking off!" He sneered in a higher-pitched voice. It was clear he was still an adolescent.
The leader raised his paw to strike the young tabby, but stopped himself. "If that weren't such a practical idea, you would be screaming in pain right now. Yes, my little brother is right. You are too dangerous to continue doing business with, Macavity. If you weren't a high-status Jellicle, things would be different. Unfortunately, that is not the case and we are drug dealers, not gamblers. Good evening, Macavity." He snapped his fingers and spun around on his heel. The three toms melted back into the shadows from whence they had come.
Macavity's shoulders drooped as he slowly turned around. "Jennyanydots? Jellylorum? You can come out now. There is no need to hide." He requested in a surprisingly calm voice. If Jenny had just been let down like that, she would have been quite angry.
Jenny and Jelly exchanged questioning, nervous glances, but the answer soon came to them as they obliged. The Jellicle Protector was a Conjurer who could easily sense the presences of anyone without seeing them, and who could read the minds of other cats.
Macavity pinched the bridge of his nose as he assumed, "You heard all that, didn't you?" When the pair nodded he continued, "Yes, I know I lied to you two, and Asparagus as well. That was just to ensure that rumors would not reach my parents that I am involved with drugs. Now, I know you're going to run off and tell them what you heard. That would be the natural thing to do, am I right?" His voice was still eerily pleasant.
Jenny and Jelly hesitated. Macavity caught Jenny's gaze and bored his topaz eyes into hers. The yellow and orange queen didn't feel any different; she just couldn't look away from Macavity for a few seconds. As soon as Mac dropped his eyes, Jenny felt a sort of relief that he wasn't staring at her anymore.
The ginger tom strode up to Jenny and roughly grabbed her shoulder. "Forgive me for just probing your memories. If you or Jellylorum tell anyone about what went on here tonight, I will make sure that tomfriend of yours suffers a very painful, slow death. Is that understood my dear, dear Jennyanydots?" He didn't let go of her shoulder until she nodded her head fervently in confirmation. Macavity gave both queens his signature, charismatic half-smile before stepping back and disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.
Jenny and Jelly looked fearfully at one another for a moment. They bolted back to the center clearing and into their respective dens. They both didn't say a word at the dinner table that night and went to sleep much earlier than usual. Jenny's parents were concerned that a fight had occured between their daughter and Jelly, but the young yellow and orange tabby assured them it wasn't anything of the sort. They reluctantly left her in peace.
The next morning Jenny and Jelly didn't see hide or hair of Macavity. They were somewhat relieved that the intimidating tom wasn't around. He had scared them enough last night. The pair spent most of their day with Asparagus, and the actor noticed his queenfriend and Jenny were a little antsy.
"Is something wrong Jelly, love? You and Jenny seem stressed." The brown and black tom commented with a furrowed brow.
Jellylorum smiled at her tomfriend. "Of course not! Everything's fine, honestly. Jenny and I are just nervous because Jenny has her second date with Skimble tonight. It's normal to be nervous for a date, Gussy. You of all cats should know that." She smirked as she folded her forelegs over her chest.
Gus chuckled and nuzzled the brown and white tabby queen. "If you say so, Jelly. Hey, it's around noon. Do you and Jenny want to hunt lunch with me?" He offered, still a bit skeptical.
Jelly grinned in confirmation, glad to have something to keep her mind off of last night. When a couple of mice were caught and consumed by each cat, they reclined on the TSE-1 and chatted about the events of the past week until it was time to get Jenny ready for her date. Jelly helped brush her best friend's fur out and fastened an elegant, navy blue collar around her neck. The tiny, fake diamonds that ordained it glimmered and sparkled in the setting sun. Gus and Jelly dropped Jenny off as usual at the train station. The actor and his queenfriend informed Jenny that they were going out for dinner and left as soon as the yellow and orange tabby queen spotted Skimbleshanks.
Skimble smiled broadly from his place on the bench as Jenny walked over to him. He looked handsome in his pressed, ebony waistcoat. As was his habit, he lifted her paw to his lips and softly kissed it in greeting. "It's a beautiful night tonight, isn't it? Come, I have a surprise for you." He purred and held her paw in his once more. Jenny giggled as his Scottish brogue made his already low voice sound all the more alluring. She forgot all about Macavity's threat from the previous night.
When they were near the docks where they had shared their first date, Skimble stepped behind Jenny and placed his paws on her shoulders. "Close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to, alright lassie? No peeking." He requested with a mischievous smile. Jenny giggled again, but shut her eyes anyway. Skimble was acting like an over-enthusiastic kitten!
The orange tabby tom guided Jenny down the relatively empty docks and over to the one he had in mind. Since he was behind Jenny, he couldn't really see what was directly in front of him. When Skimble reached his destination, his heart was pounding in his chest and he hoped Jenny wouldn't mind that his paws were getting clammy. He stopped and whispered, "Alright, we're here. Open your eyes, lass."
Jenny gladly blinked her eyes open. She gasped in slight horror at the scene in front of her. "Oh dear…" Her voice was a mixture of disappointment and shock.
"What? You don't like…" Skimble trailed off as he looked over Jenny's shoulder. In front of them was a crumpled blanket, an overturned basket, and various foods a cat might enjoy, though most of it now mere remnants, were strewn about as if someone had ransacked the small picnic and ate their loot on the spot. The half-dozen culprits dashed away to the safety of the supporting beams under the dock, but one stayed and sat on its haunches, taunting its predators with beady, cunning eyes as it nibbled the rest of the meat off the chicken bone in its grubby, hairless paws. The rat fled in the same direction as its comrades had before Skimble could wring its tiny neck.
The orange tabby tom whimpered in defeat as he tried to explain the situation. "I spent the whole day cooking dinner for us, and when I turn my back for ten minutes to go and get you…these bloody bastards ruin it. I'm terribly sorry, Miss Jenny…" He mumbled as his ears, tail, and shoulders drooped in dejection. Skimble lowered his eyes and averted his gaze in shame.
Once Jenny understood what had happened, she smiled and wrapped her arms around Skimble's neck, much to his surprise. The yellow and orange queen nestled her head under his chin and purred in contentment. "Thank you, Skimble. I know you worked really hard on this, but don't think that the date is ruined just because the rats ate all the food. We can still enjoy the beautiful night, can't we?" She smiled up at the orange tabby and pecked his cheek affectionately.
Skimble couldn't help but return the smile and hugged Jenny tightly. "You're really are something, you know that Miss Jenny? You always look on the bright side." He complimented sincerely. The orange tabby tom reluctantly retracted his arms and went to clear the mess the rats had made. He straightened the blanket, took his waistcoat off, and neatly folded it as he laid it on the corner of the fabric. Then he stretched himself out and patted the empty spot beside him.
Jenny didn't hesitate as she lay down next to Skimble, placing one paw on his shoulder and the other on his chest. She rested her head on the spot where she knew his heart was and smiled to herself at its quick beat against her ear. It slowed after a few minutes as Skimble calmed down and propped his head up with one arm. He loosely held Jenny's shoulder with the other. They watched the stars in a comfortable silence, well into the night. It was only when Jenny's paw on his chest became limp and her breathing turned deep and even that Skimble noticed she had fallen asleep. His eyelids were starting to get heavy themselves.
"Miss Jenny? You've fallen asleep." The orange tabby tom whispered as he gently nudged her awake.
Jenny rubbed the sleep from her eyes and murmured tiredly, "Sorry…I can't stay up the whole night like you can…"
Skimble chuckled as he helped his date to her feet. Jenny could barely keep herself awake, let alone walk without stumbling. He knew she could never make it home this way and tried something different. Skimble quickly buttoned up his waistcoat, and before Jenny could protest, the orange tabby tom swept her legs out from underneath her and picked her up bridal-style. She instinctively wound her arms around his neck as he quickened his pace so that they were travelling at a brisk walk. Jenny purred as she nestled her head against Skimble's chest once more and closed her eyes. The rhythm of Skimble's walk and his breathing put her to sleep within seconds again.
When the pair had reached the Jellicle Junkyard, Jenny was already in a deep sleep. Deciding it was useless to try and wake her, Skimble easily found the gate and entered the junkyard. He followed the well-trodden path until he reached a large clearing. A few toms were patrolling the various paths that led away from the clearing. One of them, an older calico tom, came up to Skimble.
"State your name, young tom. What happened to Jenny? She's my daughter, you know." The calico tom said in a gruff voice. He appeared quite intimidating as he looked the orange tabby tom over with hard eyes.
Skimbleshanks hastily bowed in head in respect to Jenny's father. "My name is Skimbleshanks, Sir. Your daughter is fine, she's just sleeping. She couldn't stay awake past midnight, I guess. Do you mind if I set her down in her den? I carried her all the way from the train station and my forelegs are getting tired." He chuckled a bit awkwardly.
The elder calico tom grinned joyfully and clapped a paw on Skimble's shoulder. "So you're the one that my Jenny is so taken with! It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Skimbleshanks! Follow me; I'll introduce you to my mate. By the way, my name is Remgail." With that he guided the younger tom to a den made from a trash pile. Jenny's father pointed to a nest of blankets and Skimble gingerly set Jenny down in it. He tucked a blanket around her shoulders and whispered a quick goodnight in her ear.
When he stood up, Jenny's father motioned to an adult queen who sat in a chair, observing him with a small smile. She was a yellow tabby; clearly Jenny's mother. The older queen stood and shook Skimble's paw. "You must be the famous Skimbleshanks. My name is Annasta. Thank you for treating Jenny with so much care and tenderness. We've been eager to meet you. Jenny might not like to talk about toms that much, but we know she is smitten with you. The more she denies it, the more the opposite is true!" She giggled amiably.
Skimble nodded with a slight laugh. "In all honesty, I feel exactly the same way about your daughter, if you don't mind me saying. Miss Jenny-uhh…Jenny brightens my day a lot. She never looks on the bad side of things and I enjoy spending time with her. I hate to cut our meeting short, but I really must be going. I have day patrol at the station as well as the Midnight Mail, and I need to catch up on my sleep. Goodnight Remgail, Annasta." He dipped his head in farewell and hurriedly left the den. Jenny's parents didn't complain and bid him goodbye in return. Skimble felt glad that he had finally met Jenny's family. They seemed like a great couple that loved their daughter a lot. He felt a small pang in his heart as he strode down the street that led to the train station. Jenny had something he never did, and never knew he missed until now: a mother and a father who loved their kit unconditionally. He shook his head vigorously to get the depressing thoughts out of it and continued on his way.