Chapter Two

Trip to City Hall

The walk to city hall was a long trek from the Scrap Yard. Jake had turned down the offer of a ride from Chance in favor of walking though. He wanted to take as much time as he could. This was going to be a long conversation he was sure of it. He had called yesterday to see if Callie had any time she could set aside for him to talk to her. She said she could pencil him in for a talk today around 3:00 pm. He left the Scrap Yard around 1:00 pm so that he could make sure he wouldn't be late. He needed someone to talk to that would at least listen to the severity of the situation. That and he needed someone who would understand how scared he was.

Chance was a great friend and he could talk to him about anything, but he didn't seem to be taking his blackouts seriously. He needed someone who would and he hoped Callie was the one who would give him that. As he walked, his mind began to wonder exactly how she would react. He pictured her fur standing on edge as she came worried and demanded he let her take him to the hospital for an examination. He shook his head with a chuckle. She would never lose her cool like that, she was pretty calm and collected she-kat. Then there was the situation where she could wave him off, saying it was exhaustion or boredom getting to him. That situation seemed unlikely too since he knew she cared for both Chance and him. They were her mechanics and her friends after all. There were so many different situations that could occur that fell between the two extremes he thought about that he knew anything could happen. He just hoped Callie had some good advice that would come along with her reaction.

He finally reached City Hall around 2:45. He went inside and took the elevator up to where Callie's office was located. He walked over to her secretary, a small she-kat with gray fur and half moon glasses. She wore her long hair back in a bun. Small broaches were pinned to her light brown business suit coat.

"I'm Jake Clawson. I'm here to see Ms. Briggs," he said to her. She looked up at him and smiled.

"You must be her Three O'clock. Have a seat and I will inform her you are here." The older she-kat pointed to one of the many chairs lined up against the wall. Jake took his seat as the woman picked up the phone and dialed one number.

"Ms. Briggs, your Three O'clock is here. Yes ma'am," the woman put down the phone and looked over to Jake.

"She will be with you soon, Mr. Clawson." Jake nodded and sat there staring at his feet. He could feel his anxiety levels rising. He always got this way around Callie. His heart began to beat faster, he would start sweating, and a knot would form in his stomach. Coupled with the anxiety of the conversation topic he was going to bring up it made him feel sick. Jake had admitted to himself long ago about his crush on Callie. He also admitted to himself about his sexuality. Hot girls were hot girls, but hot guys were hot guys. Being Bi-sexual gave him a lot of opportunities, but it also came with stigmas and coupled with is shyness it was a burden sometimes. He wasn't like Chance who could shamelessly flirty with a woman he thought was attractive. It didn't come easily to him. Conversation normally didn't come easy for him but he did try his best.

"Jake?" The brown Tom looked up at the sound of his voice being called. Callie stood on her doorway, a smile on her face. She wore her usual pink suit with matching pumps. Her hair was down and her make-up as flawless as always.

"Come on in," she motioned for him to follow her as she retreated back into her office. He followed, closing the door behind him. She sat down behind her desk and he took the chair before it.

"So, how are you?" she started out the conversation but the look on her face as concerned. He had never made an appointment with her before and she was quite curious as to what was up.

"I'm okay…" he lied.

"Tell her the truth. That is why you came here."

"Really?" she was obviously have a hard time believing his lie.

"no…I…I need someone to talk to…" his voice dropped in volume, but it was still loud enough for her to hear. His eyes were focused on his feet again.

"Alright well I'm right here. What do you need to talk about?" She leaned forward in her chair, placing her elbows on the desk and her hands under her chin.

"I…I've been having this problem…and I think it's getting worse."

"Problem? What kind of problem?"

"Well…I've been doing something lately. It started out small but now I've been doing it more frequently and I can't seem to control it…"

"Jake…are you doing drugs?" Jake's head snapped up, eyes wide.

"What? No! No…it's not drugs. I've been blacking out." Callie stared at him for a moment, a look of shock on her face.

"Blacking out? Like how?"

"Well, I will be doing something one moment and the next I'm doing something else and I don't remember the in between."

"Memory Lapses. Anything change for you recently? Change in diet or something happen?"

"Not really. Chance and I have been really bored lately but that's about it," Callie nodded as she listened, "And last night I went to bed and woke up working on a…a car," Jake caught himself just before he spilled the beans about his invention. Deep down he didn't like keeping the secret from Callie. He had always wanted to tell her but Chance said it was too risky and he had to admit he was right.

"Have you told Chance?" Jake shook his head.

"He only knows about last night because he found me asleep at the car."

"I see. Well I think you should see a doctor. There might be something wrong but I hope not. It maybe just be nerves or something if it only has been happening recently. If you want, I can call and see if I can get you an appointment."

"I would like that. Hey Callie?"

"Yeah Jake?" she was picking up the phone and was getting ready to dial a number.

"Can you please not tell Chance. I don't him to worry. And can you come with me? I don't like doctor visits." Callie smiled at Jake.

"Of course I will. Just hold on," she dialed a number and waited for a moment.

"Hello? This is Callie Briggs, Deputy Mayor. I would like to make an appointment for a friend of mine to see Dr. Simons. His name is Jake Clawson. As soon as possible please. Hold on," she covered the phone with her hand and looked at Jake.

"An appointment just got canceled. He has a four O'clock open. Want to go today?" Jake nodded. He knew it was better to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Yes, we'll take that spot. Yes. Alright then. See you in an hour. And tell Dr. Simons I say hello. Thanks Bette." Callie hung up the phone and smiled.

"Well, you are my last appointment of the day, so we can leave here as soon as 3:30. So then, anything else you want to talk about?" Jake thought for a moment. It wasn't really all that normal for him to have a chance to talk to Callie like this. He might as well use the opportunity while he had it.

"How have you been? I know it's been pretty quiet around Megakat city since all the bad guys have been quiet lately."

"I've been good. Taking care of the mayor, of course. I have to admit, though I miss the excitement, it is nice to go so long without being held hostage or running for my life." They both laughed at that.

"Do you miss being saved by the SWAT Kats?" The question just came blurting out of Jake's mouth before he could stop himself.

"Well, I don't miss the danger, but I do miss those guys. They do this city a world of good, even if Commander Feral doesn't see it."

"That Feral gets on my nerves. I wonder when he will pull that stick out of his ass."

"Not sure. But when he does, I just hope he doesn't start trying to beat people to death with it." Again they both laughed. The two talked about the weather, sports, current political situations Callie was handling, and other casual conversation topics. The two left the office together and Jake felt a lot better. It was nice talking to Callie like this for once. He hoped he could do it more in the future.

It didn't take them long to get to the hospital to visit Dr. Simons. The doctor was a tall black Tom. To Jake he seemed to be the ultimate combination of geek and jock. He liked sports and sported a nice physic himself, but when the topic of video games came up, he got into how he loved RPG's and FPS's. Jake considered having Dr. Simons become his personal doctor from now on that was if he would accept his insurance. He told the doctor his symptoms and the doctor became concerned.

"And how long has this been going on?" Jake thought back. How long had it been going on? He had only noticed recently but as he thought back, it had been happening for quite a while just not as intense.

"I noticed about five weeks ago…but I think it started somewhere in High School."

"Really now? Why do you think that?" Dr. Simons asked, holding his arms over his chest.

"I remember zoning out and when I came too I was not where I was when I zoned out."

"Hmmm. Might have been your body's autopilot kicking in. Teenage attention spans can be quite short."

"Ain't that the truth," Callie chimed in.

"Well, I think I'll schedule an MRI to check you out. Just in case. Wait here," the doctor exited the room and Jake sighed.

"I hope my insurance can cover that."

"I'm sure it will be okay. And if not, I'll help you out. I did bring you here." Jake smiled at Callie.

"Thanks. What would Chance and I do without you?"

"Starve." Jake laughed. It was probably true. Callie was their biggest customer, for both repairs and upgrades to her car. The darn thing always seemed to have a problem with it.

The MRI room was available so getting Jake in didn't take too long. He lay down on the machine in the hospital gown they gave him. He kept his breathing even and did his best to lay still. The table began to move and slowly slid into the machine. His heart felt like it wanted to beat itself out of his chest. What if the results were bad? What is he had a tumor? What if he had a hemorrhage? Could they fix him? What if they couldn't?

"Calm down Jake. It's going to be okay." Dr. Simons voice called through the speakers in the room. Jake took deep breaths trying to calm down. He forgot the doctor and Callie could see his vitals on the screen in the room they were in. The MRI whirled and hummed as it worked its magic. About an hour later, the three of them stood looking at the screen with Jake's results on the screen.

"Your brain is in perfect health, same with the rest of your body." Jake sighed in relief at the results.

"I can't think of anything that might be causing these memory lapses. I suggest keeping a journal of when they happen. Come see me if they happen again and bring the journal. As far as I see, the cause isn't physical."

Jake and Callie left the hospital and headed for the Scrap Yard. The car was silent, Jake in deep thought on the way back If the cause wasn't physical…what did that mean?