Looong over due chapter. But I should have the next one up within a few days.

Warning, this chapter is the product of hard work, reading James Patterson thrillers, and about three times the reccomended amount of red cordial.

Appearing in front of the London hospital's accidents and emergency ward Quaxo wasted no time in picking up Demeter and staggering towards the entrance. Sure he was a fairly strong tom but Demeter wasn't in any state to help him and weighed nearly as much as he did. To his immense relief there was a nurse just inside the building. Her eyes widened when she saw the tux stumble in with the broken queen in his arms.

"M… Macavity got her, please help." He managed to stammer out.

With the marvelous efficiency that hospitals have the nurse had summoned a medical team and they had Demeter on a wheelie bed and being taken to the operating theatre in a matter of seconds. They were fast but Quaxo managed to keep up until he was blocked from entering through a door by a nurse.

"But I need to see that she's alright, she's my friend!" he protested. The Queen shook her head sadly, her nametag said that her name was 'Jennyanydots'.

"I'm sorry dearie, only hospital staff past this point, we'll notify you as soon as anything happens."

"But… but" Quaxo tried to formulate a sentence, but nothing happened. Jennyanydots patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"If you go back down the corridor and turn right you'll find a shower room." She said kindly, Quaxo then realized that nearly all his chest fur was stained red with blood… Demeter's blood. He looked at Jennyanydots for a final word.

"Just so you know, she's with kitten, I don't know how long for though." He told her. Jennyanydots nodded and headed over to the operating theatre to tell the surgeon there this new bit of news. Quaxo turned around and started looking for the showers. He badly needed to get rid of the sight and smell of blood on his fur.

The memory of it however, would be much more difficult to erase.

When Tugger, Munkustrap, Jemima and Sillabub walked into the emergency waiting room at the hospital the first thing Munkustrap did was corner down the receptionist, her nametag said her name was Cassandra.

"Where's Demeter? Is she alright?" he asked, his paws gripping the table. Cassandra checked his notes.

"The doctors are still operating on her, I haven't heard about her condition since she came in." He said. Munkustrap wanted to yell at the receptionist for no reason except that he was as worried as hell about his dearly beloved mate, but told himself to keep his cool. Instead he walked over to his daughters leaving Tugger alone with Cassandra, for once Tugger was in no mood for flirting.

"Have you seen a black and white tom anywhere? He came here with Demeter and..."

"It's alright Tug, I'm over here." Came the sound of the said tom's voice. Tugger wheeled around to see the tux standing there, busy drying his head fur with a towel.

"Is she?"

"She'll live" Tugger breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been mentally guilt bashing himself for the past half hour, after all Macavity was his brother.

"Thank the everlasting cat."

After receiving countless of polite hints from the receptionist, The Jellicles finally left the hospital four hours later. Since Munk's house was swarming with crime scene techies and police officers, they all went to Tugger and Quaxo's flat for the night. It was nearly one in the morning before Quaxo began to drift off to sleep, the memory of Demeter's blood on his fur still alarmingly present.

"Well Mistoffelees, what did you think of my little warning" Quaxo could just make out a pair of coal black eyes.

"You scoundrel! Demeter's done nothing to you; don't you realize what you've done to her? To her family? To her kitten?" His outburst was met with a cool chuckle. Outraged Quaxo lunged at sorry excuse for a Jellicle, claws unsheathed. His paws passed through air and next moment he was on the floor.

"I know exactly what I've done; her family will be traumatized certainly. But I wouldn't really worry about the kitten Mistoffelees, it's already dead."

Quaxo woke up with a shudder, his heart beating wildly. He panicked for a few moments before collapsing again on the couch. Demeter's kitten had died. It had died before Demeter had even known about it. It could have definitely been worse. It probably didn't have fur or toes or anything yet. It probably didn't even know it was alive. But it would have one day...

Standing up he walked slowly over to the kitchen, only half surprised to find Tugger already there, his paws busy twisting a tea towel.

"You couldn't sleep either?" he asked, Quaxo shook his head.

"Nope"

"Want some milk? Or hot chocolate?"

"No thanks"

"Me neither" Tugger as he continued to unconsciously twist the tea towel round his paws. Quaxo began pacing round and round the kitchen unsure of what else to do, for once he didn't like thinking things through. He was far too furious with Macavity to be reasonable.

"Hey Tug, can we go for a drive?" The Maine coon raised an eyebrow. "I… just need to get out flat for a bit" Tugger nodded with understanding

"Alright"

An hour later neither cat's mood had improved despite the drive, and the six pack of beers that Tugger had brought.* Tugger was finishing the last can while Quaxo toyed with the air conditioning.

"Why did he have to choose Demeter?" groused Tugger. Why wasn't he man enough to face us directly? But no he had to go and assault Mouse trap's mate!"

"No offence Tug, but your brother is a malevolent psychopathic jerk who deserves to be thrown into the Thames, with weights on."

"Couldn't have phrased it better myself Quaxo" Tugger said dryly.

"I Just WISH there was something that we could do now, not tomorrow, not next week, NOW"

"Something that will make Macavity so mad he'll have steam coming out of his ears and will burn down his own hideout." Grinned Tugger catching on with the Tux's idea.

A few seconds later when Tugger turned round the next corner they spotted The Tipsy Dog. There seemed to be some sort of party inside, with flashing lights and fog machines going on overdrive.

Perhaps it was just coincidence that at that moment when Tugger and Quaxo look at each other, they just HAPPENED to have exactly the same crazy, senseless alcohol fuelled idea. An idea which would either work brilliantly, or score a fail that would rival the invention of powdered milk.

But then again, Quaxo didn't believe in coincidence. He was however a devoted follower to the phrase carpe diem*.

A few minutes later the flat mates were out of the car and walking to the pub. Quaxo took slight detour that brought him onto the road.

"Quaxo what…?"

"Jewllery shop" he answered "gotta avoid them"

"Remind me to never buy a necklace" smirked Tugger.

When they arrived at the pub Tugger went inside. Quaxo looked round quickly before disappearing onto the roof. Settling himself next to the electric wire he waited for Tugger's 'signal'.

Tugger grinned as he felt the music pumping through his body. Dozens of cats were bopping away on the dance floor their movements robotic under the strobe light. And yes the note books were lying on their usual table, unattended.

Deciding to wait a few minutes before "borrowing" them Tugger swiped a drink that had been left on the table. It tasted rather funny; having a faintly musty flavor. Perhaps it was fermented differently. Drowning the rest of the beer Tugger headed for the dance floor, Quaxo wouldn't mind waiting a few minutes surely?

Actually did mind A LOT, the roof was cold, it looked like it was going to rain soon and there was lichen clinging to his fur, plus the more time they wasted the more likely they would get caught. It was just beginning to look seriously overcast when Quaxo's ears picked up a very familiar song.

Da da da daa daa, de de do do da-DUM!

Meow…

Da da da daa daa, de de do do da-DUM!

Meow…

The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat!

Yes, Tugger had insisted that his song playing on the jukebox be the signal.

Quaxo closed his eyes and let his magic flow to his paws till they began to tingle with a prickling sensation. It wasn't a painful feeling; his teacher had once compared it to lying on a bed of nails. Once the tingle felt strong enough he release his magic and sent a lightning bolt at the electric wire. As expected the pub was plunged into darkness. A few unsuspecting cats screamed and Quaxo heard at least one glass being smashed.

Teleporting to ground level Quaxo was about to walk inside to find Tugger when the tom in question hurled himself out of the pub, the notebooks held tightly under one arm. Quaxo was able to notice that his flat mates' eyes were bloodshot and wide open with frenzied fear, before Tugger crashed into him an instant later.

"RUN!" he yelled before taking off down the street. Quaxo sprinted after him, he wasn't about to stay and see what they were running from. Tearing down the street Quaxo wondered what they were running from were from, Macavity's Hench cats? Macavity himself? The Tipsy Dog's owner?

Looking back he caught sight of what looked like three feline versions of the abominable snowman stumble out of the pub and glance round till they'd spotted them. With an enraged yell the largest tom charged at their retreating forms closely flanked by the other two. Their pace was fast and when they'd rounded a corner into an ally they were noticeably gaining on the pair.

"Tugger do something!" yelled Quaxo to the tom in front of him. Pounding down the narrow alleyway Tugger spotted a large pile of crates. Without a second thought he gave the pile a good kick and resumed running. The crashing a banging's and swearing of their pursuers were heard a moment later. Rounding another corner they both stopped and stood their panting.

"D…Do you think we lost them?" asked Quaxo, blood pounding in his ears.

"I…I think so" answered Tugger resting his paws on his knees. Then he did the strangest thing Quaxo had ever seen, he started giggling.

"Tugger what the hell?" asked Quaxo as the bigger tom quite literally started shrieking with laughter.

"Did you see his face?" said Tugger, his voice strangely high pitched. Quaxo shook his head in bewilderment. His puzzlement was cut short abruptly when they head the pounding footsteps of one of their pursuers back in the alleyway. He must have navigated himself around the crates somehow.

Quaxo and Tugger took off again. The dark shadow of not one but two tom's following them. Quaxo looked wildly around them, he couldn't see any crates, boxes or anything else tip-able in sight, where was a trash can when you needed one?

Thinking quickly Quaxo waited till they rounded a corner before conjuring a large patch of ice on the pavement. The first of their pursuers that stepped on the ice flew backwards and landed on his shoulder with a sickening crunnnnch! The second cat, seeing what happened to his companion ran around the ice patch and continued chasing the flat mates. By the time they got to the fourth corner that brought them all back to The Tipsy Dog's street he was only a few meters away.

In a moment of inspiration Tugger grabbed Quaxo's paw and pulled him into the jewelry shop that they'd passed by what seemed like years ago. Quaxo immediately felt the effects of his magic being drained away and fell to his knees, feeling the ground rock beneath him like a ship in the middle of a fifty foot swell.

When Tugger ran into the shop he immediately dropped the notebooks and spun round to slam the screen door shut. Almost immediately after the door was closed the tom that'd been chasing them ran head first into it with a sharp CRACK! Sliding down the glass he fell down at last, unconscious. Tugger was overjoyed and immediately began a victory dance, looking more like a spastic monkey, then a Jellicle.

"Take that ya suckers! No one messes with the Rum Tum Tugger! R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me! R-E-S-P-E-C-T Take care TCB!"

This was too much for Quaxo. He'd used up a lot of his magic today, it was past two in the morning, and after the mad dash around the block he was running purely on adrenalin. Slumping forward he passed out just before his head hit the floor.

Have Tugger and Quaxo really escaped? What's going on with Tugger? Will Demeter find out about her lost kitten? Stay tuned to find out!

*To all you younger readers out there, do not do any of this at home, ESPECIALLY DRINK AND DRIVE! If do so and wind up in hospital I will not be held responsible.

*carpe diem is latin for sieze the day, yeah I'm a latin student. Free box of cookies for the reviewer who knows what Felix Feles translates into. Bonus points if you don't use google translator!