Chapter 4 Back and Forth

Sly arrived back to the Safehouse around 3 in the morning.

"Hey guys, anyone still up?" he called.

Several moments passed before he got a response. Then from down the hallway, a groggy Bentley rolled into the living room followed by Penelope, who yawned lightly, her now much longer blonde hair looking somewhat scraggly.

"Well now we are. Hey Sly, how'd it go?" Bentley asked. The smart reptile could already pick up on the cheerful and somewhat mischievious look that had returned to Sly's eyes. Which was something he thought he'd never see in his friend again.

"Um, great," Sly said, failing to admit he hadn't exactly talked to her about lying about his memory. "She actually told me something really wonderful."

Murray walked in about that time, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Really? What is it?"

Sly took a deep breath. "If I tell you guys, you have to promise you won't hate me forever."

Bentley scoffed. "Sly, we would never hate you, no matter what."

"Yeah Sly, just tell us what happened," Murray added.

Penelope gave a reassuring smile to the conflicted but seemingly cheerful raccoon.

"Well…ok. When I went to go patch things up with Carmelita tonight, she uh….well, told me…that she's gonna have a baby."

Bentley blinked. Murray scratched his head. "And that concerns you, because…?"

"Because it's mine," Sly told them.

Penelope gasped. "Oh Sly, that is wonderful!" She lightly hugged him, and he returned the hug with genuine appreciation. "I'm so happy for you!"

He smiled. "Thanks Penelope."

"Wow. That's great Sly. Congrats," Bentley said.

Murray looked troubled. Sly put a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong, pal?" Sly asked.

"Well, I'm happy for you Sly," he began. "Really. But...what about the gang?"

"Um…" Sly ran his hand through his gray head fur. "That's kind of what I'm not sure about. I mean, I don't wanna split up from the team again, I can't do that, but I know how hard this has gotta be for Carm. She can't go it alone, either." Sly sat down on the couch. "I just don't know what to do."

Penelope sat down next to him. "Whatever you do, you should do right by her, Sly," she said.

"Yea," Bentley said. "Hmm… Maybe you could just be with her some of the time and hang here the rest of the time. You know, a back and forth thing."

Sly mulled it over. "Yea…yea, I think I can make that work. For now."

So for a few weeks, Sly traveled back and forth, staying with Carmelita at her apartment when she got off work until she went to sleep each night. He gladly helped her whenever she needed him, holding her hair back during her bouts of morning sickness, and cuddling afterward, and such as that. Mostly she was very sleepy and somewhat clingy, not that Sly minded.

But Sly spent lots of time with his team as well, performing small heists here and there. And sometimes he wouldn't be back for a day or so. This worried her.

Late one night, when Carmelita was lying in bed, wide awake, her thoughts began to trouble her. One of her hands dropped to gently rub her swollen belly. It had been nearly four months already. Time was slipping away, and she began to worry about Sly's absence lately.

What if he wasn't there for her in the more crucial times? Important events she wanted him there for. She wanted him with her, every step of the way, just like he'd promised!

As she was uneasily contemplating the difficulty of the situation at hand, she heard the French doors of her bedroom balcony open, and in one swift move, the raccoon jumped onto the bed and landed next to her. Sliding under the covers, he wrapped his arms around her waist. He curled his ringed tail around her back, and their noses met.

"Hey gorgeous," he crooned. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's ok," she answered, giving him a faint smile, but he could hear the worry in her voice.

"What's the matter sweetie?" he asked.

She began to trace circles on his hands with her thumbs. "I was just thinking…"

"About?" he asked intently.

She finally looked up at him. "Just, that you haven't been around a lot this past week." She studied his weary eyes with concern. "And you look exhausted."

He chuckled. "Running to you and them all the time like this can make a guy tired, I suppose," he joked. "Living a double life is harder than I thought it'd be."

She frowned in thought. "Well, not only are you now losing sleep, but you being away so much made me wonder...what if I go into labor and you're not around to take me to the hospital? Or what if something goes seriously wrong close to time and you're nowhere to be found?" She gasped lightly. "What if you miss the birth?"

He simply smirked. "Carm, that's not gonna happen. And why in the world are you worrying about all this stuff anyway?"

Her chocolate brown eyes burned with apprehension. Then it all came out in a rush. "Because!" she cried. "I'm worried about everything! I can't even think straight! Because I'm thinking of all the things that could potentially go wrong at this point, and I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. My brain's a jumbled mess! Not only do I have to worry about the baby's well-being, but every night you aren't here I'm concerned that-" At that point she was unintentionally speaking Spanglish, something she did when she was overwhelmed.

"Shh," he said softly, placing a finger gently to her trembling lips. She was quite adorable to him when she was flustered and needy. He always knew there was a vulnerable girl behind that tough policewoman front.

He reached a hand up and stroked one of her soft furry cheeks to calm her down. "I'll be right nearby, ya know. The Safe House is practically a hop skip and a jump away. If you scale electrical lines, and take the back streets like me, that is."

She sighed worriedly. "Yea well, what if you're out thieving somewhere in Paris? Or running from cops and guards!" Her embrace tightened around his waist. "I can't be myself all the time right now. I want you with me like you promised. And I can't handle you living in two places like this. I need you."

It made Sly feel incredible to hear her say that. He knew she was right. She was extremely hormonal and emotionally dependent on him at the moment. Carmelita needed him. But so did his gang. They had some big missions planned in the near future. He had to find a way to please everyone.

And he thought he maybe knew a way.

"I have an idea," he told her with a smile.

Sly was met with incredulous, open-mouthed stares upon his request.

"Come again?" Bentley asked.

"Say what now?" Murray questioned.

"You want what?" Penelope inquired.

"I want Carmelita to move in with us. Just temporarily until we figure things out," Sly said.

Bentley and Murray exchanged worried glances as they contemplated having the intimidating inspector living with them. She was always quite the fearful threat to their team. Even Penelope seemed kind of concerned as well. She hadn't known very much of Inspector Fox but knew she was formidable with her weapon of choice.

They did know this was coming, however. It wasn't like he could spend forever going back and forth from them to her. It wasn't going to work and they all knew that.

"Well…I dunno Sly," Bentley started. "She's a cop. I-I'm not sure that's best."

"She's taken a sort of leave of absence at the moment," Sly told them. "Off duty until after the baby gets here."

"Maybe longer than that. Or not at all," Carmelita said quietly.

The other four stared at her.

"What do you mean, Carm?" Sly asked her.

Carmelita looked down and held her belly with both hands, cradling the little kit growing inside. "I was considering leaving the force. Once when we were just teasing adversaries, it was fine to pursue Sly and you guys as criminals. Now that we're much more than that…I don't know. It just…doesn't feel...right."

The others were silent as they took in what she was saying. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Was she going to quit being a policewoman, never to chase after the Cooper Gang ever again?

Sly placed both his hands on her arms and pulled her close. "Carmelita, are you saying you want to give up working for Interpol?"

She bit her lip. "Maybe…I…I'm not sure. There's just…a lot to think about right now." She turned to Murray, Bentley, and Penelope. "But if you guys let me stay, I promise not to hinder any of your, uh, plans. Maybe I could help a little? I'm not so bad once you give me a chance." They had never seen the vixen look and act so vulnerable. It was almost surreal. She hugged Sly tightly. "I just don't wanna hurt Sly. Nor do I wanna hurt you guys. You're his closest friends."

Sly hugged her back protectively. "So, can she stay guys?" Sly asked his friends.

The hippo, turtle, and mouse looked at each other for a long moment, thinking. Finally, they all sort of shrugged, unsure. Bentley finally spoke up. "We'll take that into consideration, Inspecto-uh, Ms. Fox. It's fine with us for the time being, Sly." Murray and Penelope nodded.

Oh Carmelita! Always focusing on the negative and what could go wrong. And so clingy! But that's alright; it's quite adorable to Sly, the clinginess that is.

What kind of shenanigans will ensue now that Carmelita is added to this interesting group of friends?

Keep reading to see for yourself.