Hello everyone! Here's a new chapter of Drawing the Short Straw

As Felina tends to Razor's wounds, they both find themselves fighting deeper feelings for each other. Is it possible to have a moment during a firefight?

Author's notes: The previous chapter, Trouble Comes Knocking, was the first time I ever attempted any type of action scene. I'm glad it came off well. I owe it all to Ulyferal for her beta work and reading tons of Mack Bolan. In fact, I recommend anyone attempting action scenes pick up a Mack Bolan or The Executioner book for guidance. Some books are better than others, but you still get the gist of it.

I'm almost done with this story! I'm a little sad about it. Only a chapter and an epilogue to go!

Thanks for all the reviews, and welcome godofmadness43! I'm flattered that you all like my story.

Thanks again to Ulyferal for being a great beta. Hope you all enjoy!

Thanks for reading,

-AkaneKitty

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Drawing the Short Straw:

Patchwork

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"Here we are, Gunny. Have a seat."

Razor sat down gratefully on Felina's sofa as she closed her apartment door behind her. Wearily, he let himself sink into the plush cushions and watched Felina with bemused interest as she began tossing her personal items into obviously predetermined spots around her living room.

It looked like Felina would hurl her recovered, empty sidearm clear across the room, but apparently she thought better of it and placed it on a bookshelf. Her cell phone and makeup kit went on the coffee table in front of Razor.

Stopping for a minute to catch her breath, Felina caught the amused look on Razor's face. "What?"

"I'm always amazed at how she-kats can hide so much stuff on their body." Razor grinned. "It must be the curves."

"Yeah, yeah." Grinning herself, Felina walked over and poked Razor gently in the chest, pushing him back. "Sit back and relax. I need to get a good look at your jaw."

Felina proceeded to feel along Razor's jaw line and up his cheeks with her fingers. Any thrill he might have gotten from her touch was tempered by the fact it was mostly clinical instead of affectionate.

"Hmm...Looks like your jaw wasn't broken or dislocated," Felina murmured mostly to herself. "But there's some swelling. You're going to have a hell of a bruise, Gunny."

"Tell me about it."

"Now sit still. I'll go get my med kit."

As Felina disappeared into what Razor assumed was her bedroom, he finally willed his body to relax. He was going to be sore the next day, but that was to be expected after the beating he took.

What a night.

What started as a simple Cyclotron malfunction turned into a night of fishburgers and battling a murderous robot ninja. That thought made him pause and frown. That robot bothered him. Why was it after Felina? What did it want with her? Sure, it wanted to kill him, but it was near her home. Razor was sure that wasn't a coincidence.

Maybe it was good thing T-Bone went on that date. It gave him an opportunity to be with Felina and protect her. Not that Felina needed to be protected, but he did help somewhat.

Just thinking about the pretty Lieutenant caused some new stirrings in Razor that he quickly squelched. Was it possible to have a moment during an explosion?

Sure the soft, sweet smelling, dressed to kill Felina was hot. But the wind tussled hair, runs in her stockings, and smelling of a firefight Felina was, in Razor's opinion, much hotter. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

Too busy dodging her angry Uncle, perhaps.

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Dropping to her knees, Felina grunted as she tugged the heavy combat medical kit from its hiding place underneath her bed. Heaving it upwards, she dropped the kit on top of the bed with a grunt.

There's a SWAT Kat in my living room, she thought. Wounded, but he was still a SWAT Kat. And she was going to render aid and let him go.

Uncle Ulysses would have a fit if he found out.

With a guilty sigh, Felina rose and sat beside the medical kit on her bed, removing the heavy bracelets from her arms. She opted not to change her clothes until after she tended Razor's wounds.

Just how many Enforcer rules and regulations was she breaking right now? Way too many to count. But all those rules crumbled because the kat who saved her life needed her help.

Gunny...She hadn't expected the SWAT Kat to be so charming...or cunning. He maneuvered around her flirtations like her ex, Gabriel Leon, did. Maybe with a bit more finesse. He wasn't a braggart like Gabe was. And she definitely wanted to see he if could use his piece...

Mortified, Felina shook her head, shaking away any feelings that bubbled to the surface. Why was she comparing the two toms? Sure they were both vigilantes (although Gabriel was "legal"), and they both had similar skills, but that's where the comparison ended.

Razor wasn't going to be her boyfriend, or even a future boyfriend. She was just going to patch him up, let him spend the night if he wanted, and send him on his way. She would then file the necessary reports at headquarters before heading off for her court date.

Besides, comparing Razor to Gabriel wouldn't be fair...to Gabriel.

"Let's see..." Felina opened her med kit and began looking around. "Seems like I have everything. Sterile needles, sterile water, bandages, gauze, peroxide...Argh! Where are my sutures?" Felina rooted through the kit before a realization dawned on her. She gritted her teeth. "Gabriel, you tomkat!"

The tom must have used the sutures to patch himself up without telling her. Felina seethed. Now she was going to have to find a suitable replacement. The tom could have at least told her, so she could have restocked the item. She didn't think Razor would do something like this. He seemed to act like a gentlekat.

Embarrassed that she found herself comparing the two toms again, Felina felt herself blushing and stood up, heading to her bathroom. She knew exactly what to use to replace those sutures.

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Razor was gingerly trying to remove his jacket over his wounded arm when Felina reappeared, med kit and some towels in tow. Placing them on the coffee table, she walked over to him and knelt down.

"Here, Gunny. Let me help you with that."

Felina gently eased the left sleeve of Razor's jacket over his wound as the SWAT Kat shrugged out of it. Paws touching briefly, the two locked eyes for a moment before Felina broke contact first and looked away, moving to the other side of the coffee table. A bit flustered himself, Razor tossed his jacket over the arm of Felina's sofa.

As Felina began placing towels on the coffee table, Razor spied a small box that was on top of the med kit.

"Dental floss?"

"It's replacement sutures." Felina made a face. "I had some in my kit, but a certain tomkat named Gabriel apparently used them all and didn't tell me!"

"Gabriel?" Razor asked. "Who's that?"

"An ex." Felina exhaled after counting to ten. "Don't ask."

"Ah."

Razor burned with questions, but decided to be polite and not push it. He focused on the box of dental floss instead. "Are you sure about the dental floss?"

Felina spied the face Razor made. "It's sterile!"

He smirked at her. "Is it wintergreen or minty fresh?"

"Look, smartass...," Felina smirked herself, "...keep that up, and I won't offer you a beer to take the edge off while I stitch you up."

"I don't need beer."

"Gunny, I'm going to be stitching you up without any anesthetic. It'll hurt like hell." Felina pushed her coffee table over so it was touching the couch. "I know you're tough, but just drink the beer."

Razor sighed in defeat. "All right."

Felina quickly dashed into the kitchen and opened her refrigerator, retrieving a few beers. Returning to Razor's side, she placed three beers on the table before sitting down, placing one beside her.

"In case I need it." Felina answered Razor's unasked question. "Now...Let me get to work.

Felina began dousing her paws with disinfectant and rubbed them together. As they began drying, she nodded at him.

"Better get drinking." Felina said as she pulled on some gloves. "Oh, can you grab the television remote and my cell phone? I'm not expecting any official calls but I do have to answer it. And turn on the TV. I need noise to do my best work."

Razor reached over and grabbed Felina's cell phone and the remote with his good paw. After turning on the TV, he placed the remote and cell phone on the end table next to the sofa within easy reach. As she began threading her needle with dental floss, he swung his legs upwards, lying down on the couch.

"Now to really inspect the damage..." Felina said, mostly to herself. Grabbing his arm and placing it on the towels, she reached up and undid her stocking tourniquet.

Blood flowed from the wound but quickly stopped, much to Felina's relief. At least it looked like that robot didn't nick an artery. Using some gauze, she wiped away some of the blood to get a better look.

"Looks like a clean cut. No jagged edges. That makes my work easier," she commented, opening a bottle of sterile water. "Doesn't look too deep, either. So you'll heal up nicely."

Razor cracked opened his first beer and took a pull from it. "That's good."

Felina flushed the wound with water, then doused it with peroxide. He winced, and took another pull from his beer. It was only going to get worse.

"All right, Gunny," Felina held up her needle. "You ready?"

He waved his beer and grunted, "Have at it."

Felina did, while he finished his first beer.

A few minutes later, Felina was into her third stitch and Razor was halfway through his second beer. Fumbling for the remote behind him, he started flipping through channels. He really needed a laugh about now to distract himself from Felina's stitch work.

"Hey, it's a Litterbin rerun," he announced, finishing off his second beer, watching as Litterbin interviewed a semi-famous brunette actress.

Completing her fifth stitch, Felina glanced back at the screen. "Hmm...She's cute."

"You think so?"

"Yeah." Felina returned her attention back to Razor's arm, smiling a little. "Too bad I prefer blondes."

"Really?" Not sure Felina was testing him again, Razor opened his third beer to give himself some time. "That explains the issue of Playkat I saw."

"I just read it for the articles."

"Felina, that's like saying I read it for the articles."

"You don't?" Felina's smile grew bigger. "For shame, Gunny."

Razor shrugged. "I read Danger Close magazine. Some of my best ideas come from there."

"And I'm sure the she-kats modeling the ammo are a great bonus."

Razor laughed despite himself. "You got me."

"You know...," Felina finished a sixth stitch, "...if you gave me half the stuff that magazine advertises, I would love you forever."

"If I made it and gave it to you, does that count?"

Felina gave Razor one of the most beautiful smiles he'd ever seen as she answered. "Be still, my heart."

The moment hung in the air and they both realized they had been staring at each other for several seconds. Not trying to hide her blush, Felina resumed her work while Razor covered his embarrassment by watching TV.

He heard a cell phone ring and Felina looked up in alarm, nearly pulling the stitch she was working on too tight.

"Is that-"

"An official Enforcer call! That's from Headquarters!"

"Um..."

"I hope no one called in that explosion and now Headquarters is calling to see why I haven't reported anything!" Felina panicked, but took a few deep breaths to calm down. "Answer it, Gunny. But be quiet."

Grabbing the cell phone, Razor pressed a button and the she-kat made herself sound as tired as possible. "Lieutenant Feral."

A familiar baritone voice answered. "I know it's three a.m., but you are not that tired, Felina."

"Uncle!" Felina looked panicked again, but kept it out of her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Why would you think that?"

"You're on the official line!"

"I am?" Razor heard some papers rustling. "You're right. My mistake. Sorry about that."

"Uncle, unless you're drunk dialing, you never make mistakes about the official Enforcer lines." Felina gently corrected one of her stitches, hoping Razor wouldn't make too much noise. "So what's up?"

"Hey, I haven't drunk dialed anyone in months," Feral chuckled. "But really I'm just finishing up calling all my majors. I like keeping them on their claws."

"I'm not a major, Uncle."

"Well, you'll carry the weight of one. The majors want you to be the new C3 officer."

"What?" Felina completely stopped her stitch work. "That's Command, Control, and Communications. I'm in the helicopter brigade. Besides, isn't that Major Lewis' domain?"

"Major Lewis is about to go on maternity leave. And since the majors are considering promoting you to Lieutenant Grade 2, they would like to see you in an administrative, yet public role."

The mere mention of a promotion caused Felina to remember what little she could of the robot's pronouncements. Just the thought that it was right about her possible promotion unsettled her. Razor noticed this as well and became concerned, hoping Feral wouldn't become aware of the pause.

"Felina?"

"I'm still here." Felina took a few deep breathes and focused her attention on her needle. "Is this going to ground me?"

"You'll be in the air less, but I assure you, if you need to be in the air, you'll be the first one up."

"But..."

"Felina, if you want to be a part of High Command someday, you're going to have to show the majors you can handle the public and do some administrative work." Feral paused a moment. "I...stretched my powers a bit to get you recommended. Normally I like to keep up appearances so I'm not accused of favoritism or nepotism, but I felt you deserved this chance."

Felina's smile could have melted hearts. "Thank you, Uncle."

"You're welcome, 'Lina." Feral cleared his throat. "So here are your official orders: Since I received a call that your court appearance is cancelled for the time being, you will report for evening duty. There you will shadow Major Lewis. Since she goes on leave soon, I'd pick up as much as you can. You'll be in the fire soon. Oh, and this means dress uniform from now on, not your standard uniform."

"Yes, sir."

"Now I'm off to start an argument between the armed response and street patrol brigades." Feral's voice had a touch of warmth behind it. "Good night, Felina."

"'Night, Uncle."

Razor pressed a cell phone button to end the call. He waited a few minutes to make sure it was clear before he gave Felina an inquiring look. "Lina?"

"Old family nickname." Felina made a noise, but she still smiled, resuming her work. "But, you call me that anywhere else other than the bedroom, and I will shoot you."

"Aww...but it's such a cute name!"

Felina pulled a stitch through and held up the needle threateningly. "I was in Special Forces. I know how to hurt you!"

Razor smirked. "Sounds kinky."

"I'm adventurous, Gunny, not that adventurous." Felina laughed, feeling her mood lighten. Then, she smirked. "Besides, good little toms don't write checks their tails can't cash."

Razor had no comeback for that so he shook his head instead, settling back as Felina continued stitching him up. After a while it became apparent that he hadn't minded his manners, so Razor strove to correct that.

"Lina?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Felina looked up at Razor and smiled a smile that melted his heart.

"You're welcome, Gunny."