Chapter Nineteen

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

The emotions Raina had held back until now came spilling out. Small hiccups accompanied the tears no doubt disturbing the taxi driver, who glanced in the mirror several times to see if she was alright. When he arrived at her destination, she hurriedly paid him jumped out and ran up to the door disappearing inside before he'd even driven off.

The clock on the wall chimed midnight when she entered their safe house after leaving Jake so abruptly. She felt like such a fool coming here when she'd told Urabe she wouldn't be back tonight. But after what happened with Jake, she didn't see what else she could have done. She needed time to figure out how she was going to tell him what was going on between them and she couldn't do that with her hormones pushing at her when she was around him.

But how was she supposed to clue him in that they were mates without telling him what she was in the first place? Also, how could she keep from him the reason for her presence in the city and their mission? That part he wasn't supposed to know about because it involved him and his partner and would certainly affect how he acted as a SWAT Kat. But she couldn't leave him in the dark with his instincts already reacting to her and confusing him. To leave him like that was to endanger his life because he would be too distracted. What was she to do?

Bringing up both her paws, she used one to remove her glasses and the other to wipe away the tears that soaked her facial fur. She felt so awful and her body felt laden. She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid allowing her mate to take her to the club where she knew an altercation could have occurred and did. Poor Jake was so confused by how he reacted and by her sudden withdrawal from him. And all that whispering going on about his behavior ... she groaned.

'How could I have put him through that ... I can still see the toll it took on him to turn his back on the club goers and go outside with their nasty remarks still ringing in his ears. And what did I do? Leave him like that and run back here. I'm such a fool!' She berated herself.

Feeling awful both physically and emotionally, Raina walked across the thick carpet to the couch in the living room. She paused before sitting down thinking she should get some water for her dry throat so changed direction and went to the kitchen. Minutes later, filled glass in paw, she went to the couch and sat down, setting her glass on the coffee table after taking a deep sip.

Sighing, she decided to sleep here so as not to wake the others who surely were asleep by now. Taking her shoes and coat off, she plumped the decorative pillow a bit then laid down, pulling a small blanket usually left on the arm of the couch, over herself and tried to settle to sleep.

Once she was comfortable, Raina found herself unable to shut her mind down. It kept going over and over all that had happened that night and how she could have prevented or handled the incident better. What didn't make sense was she had been trained to handle the unexpected and to adapt quickly to solve it yet tonight none of that training was present. She'd stood there like a normal Kat would, confused and unable to act in the appropriate manner. It just made no sense!

As her mind beat at her incessantly, her excellent senses never detected the figure coming from down the hall that led to the bedrooms and pad silently into the kitchen. The figure flicked the switch for the light on. Raina blinked in surprise at the sudden flash that blinded her a moment before allowing her to see who was up this late. It was Karel.

Karel, his mind sleep fogged, moved drowsily to a cupboard and retrieved a glass to get some water to drink. Normally, he kept his guard up and would have sensed someone awake nearby but with his team in the house to back him up in case of trouble, he hadn't bothered to wake fully. He was very tired, having had to spend the day trying to track down Dr. Viper without success only to come home to a very upset Urabe. That had been disturbing. Before he could crash and get some sleep he had to wait even longer to talk to his captain after that SIC had finished calming down their leader. So Karel could be forgiven failing to see or sense Raina.

It was as he was about to flick the light off that he finally noted the she-Sahara laying on the couch. Blinking more alert, he frowned and left the light on so he could see her better.

"Raina? When did you get in?" he asked concerned leaning back to look at the kitchen clock. It was one a.m. in the morning and he was sure Urabe had told him and Antonio, that Raina would be spending the night with Jake.

"A…little while ago," the young Sahara said in a small voice curling her body into a ball using the blanket to try and hide herself.

Noting the body language, Karel instantly knew something had gone wrong. His paw that had been ready to turn the light off, dropped to his side and he walk over to sofa. Taking a seat on the table across from her head, he stared down at her. He waited to see if she wished to talk about what had happened. If she didn't respond he would take that as unwillingness to discuss whatever upset her and leave her be.

The fact that he felt the need to just be beside her pointed out what kind of creatures Saharas were. Though not as social as Kats, they did have a better sense when someone was in distress and would offer comfort when needed. So he sat and waited patiently. He knew she would talk when she was ready.

Though it was several minutes, Raina finally did speak, her voice slightly muffled by the blanket she was hiding under. "Is…Urabe mad at me?"

"No, she's not," Karel said with certainty. "She understands your need to be close to your mate at this time... we all do." When she didn't respond, he frowned and tried again. "Raina, seriously, Urabe isn't angry at you. If it'll make you feel better, I'd be happy to wake her so she can tell you so herself."

Raina sucked in a breath and sat up so suddenly, Karel was forced to lean back in surprise. "No, please don't do that!" she said hurriedly. "Don't wake her."

Puzzled and confused by her behavior he simply nodded and stayed still watching her. Raina lowered her eyes and blushed in embarrassment. How could she tell him about what had happened when she wasn't sure what was going on?"

As if reading her mind, Karel took a deep breath and slowly let it out, "But this isn't about Urabe and whether she's mad or not, is it? Something happened with you and your mate, yes?"

Looking miserable, Raina tried to explain. "I…We…after meeting at the cyber café, Jake wanted to take me out on a date and I suggested we go to a club nearby. When we got there, everything was going great. I was delighted to be spending time with him but then ..." she halted unable to continue.

Karel had a suspicion. "Something bad happen."

Raina slowly nodded, "When I was on the floor dancing this other tom came up behind me and started to flirt with me. He was very pushy about it."

Karel eyes narrowed a bit. He didn't like the thought that someone had pawed Raina but he just as quickly shoved that annoyance aside and focused on what she'd said. Apparently, when this male took liberties with her, Jake wasn't happy about it. Karel had no doubt what happened next but he let her tell the tale.

"I told him to leave me alone before he could get hurt but he just scoffed at my words that's when Jake grabbed the guy and put him in a head lock and threatened to hurt him badly if he didn't apologize then leave me alone."

"So? Sounds like Jake only did what a mate's supposed to do...protect you," Karel said shrugging. He felt a bit sorry for the rude tom. Jake might be small and look as if he'd be a pushover to a bigger tom, but that compact body was a power house in disguise. The tom didn't stand a chance.

"You don't understand! You didn't see the look of horror and shame that flooded Jake's face when he realized what he'd done when we were alone again outside the club. He was shocked he'd lost control that way knowing he was far to strong and dangerous to allow it. And there I was standing like some idiot, my mind completely blank as to what to do. I should have handled the situation better," Raina cried bitterly angry at herself.

Karel's expression cleared. 'Ahh so that's it!' He thought. She didn't like the fact that her emotions had caused her to freeze at a critical moment and she was beating herself up for it. A common problem for Saharas that were mated to Kats. Which was why these matings were so full of problems. Sighing, he had to educate her quickly before she thought she couldn't do her job and quit. They couldn't do without her now, the mission was too important.

"Raina, you're not the first nor will you be the last Saharas having to deal with such problems especially when becoming a mate to a Kat. Even those mated to other Saharas occasionally run into these problems until their mating is completed. So stop beating yourself up over freezing the way you did. It's natural to the process of mating if a bit difficult to deal with at the time it happens. When it comes to our mates, all the training in the world can't prepare us for the initial emotions that overtake us during this delicate pre-mating period," he explained, gently.

Raina blinked at him in surprise. Well why didn't someone explain that to us earlier? She huffed mentally. It wouldn't have been such a shock. Sighing to herself, she was relieved it was a normal behavior.

Thinking she'd seen his point, Karel smile as he watched Raina work through her turmoil and finally relax. "See? You were worried over nothing and…"

"Oh no!" She cried out suddenly, cutting him off, her face showing dismay and anguish.

Bewildered, Karel demanded, "Raina? What's wrong now?"

"I'm an idiot! I just left Jake standing there outside the club with no explanation for what had happened!" Raina said curling back into a ball.

Karel shook his head and let out an exhausted sigh. What a mess!

0~0~0~0~0~0

After the strange encounter at the supermarket earlier that morning, Chance was still confused and bothered by it. His bowl of cereal remained sitting before him but he had no appetite. Finally, he rose and dumped it down the sink then went down into the hangar to their workout room and got all sweaty as he pounded the bag and did weight lifting for several hours.

By late afternoon, he'd not come upstairs but once when the phone rang in the garage. It was from Jake saying he wouldn't be coming home that night as he was staying with the she-kat he'd met recently. Chance wished him a great evening then hung up. Sighing, he looked around a moment to insure he didn't have any customers arriving...there were none...then returned to the hangar to work.

When evening finally arrived, he quickly dressed in his g-suit and climbed aboard his cyclotron. Leaving by way of a small secret exit meant for it, T-Bone was soon zooming at high speed toward the center of town. He wasn't worried about enforcer patrols as they never were able to catch him and they didn't try as they knew what it was passing them so quickly. Traffic was a little heavy as people went home for the evening from a long day at work but he threaded through it easily.

Soon he was slowing down in a quieter neighborhood of high rise apartments no more than ten miles from Enforcer Headquarters. The one farthest away from the Enforcer Towers was his destination. Finding an alley that suited his needs, he turned into it and road down a ways until he came to a huge set of city dumpsters. He climbed off his bike then went to one of the dumpsters. Pulling it forward, he made enough room to stash his bike. He set the security system on the cyclotron then stepped further down the alley before aiming his glovetrix upward and firing a grappling line up to the roof line. When it caught on something and held, he allowed it to retract, dragging him up with it.

Once on the roof, he was pleased to see it was set up to be a patio so there was a roof stairwell leading down to the apartments below. But he didn't go down just yet. He took up a watcher's position above the parking garage entrance, settled down on his haunches to wait.

His mind strayed to that incredible she-kat he'd met. He hoped Felina would be able to help him because he didn't know what he'd do if he couldn't locate that female again. Her touch haunted him and made him feel odd but in a good way.

About two hours later, the one he waited for finally drove in. Nodding to himself, he walked briskly to the door, opened it cautiously and listened. No one was about so he stepped in, closing the door behind him. He knew Felina lived on the top floor so he only had a short set of stairs to walk before coming out the hallway door. Peering out into the corridor, he saw no one. Quickly he hurried out and down the hall until he came to her apartment. Using the handy little burlery tool Razor had invented, he gained access and hurried inside before he was seen.

Inside, he relocked the door then looked around for a place to hide. He spotted a terrace door that led out to a balcony...perfect! He quickly made for it, stepped outside insuring the curtains were pulled a ways to hide him then closed the door and waited.

He had been in time. Only five minutes later, Lt. Felina Feral entered her apartment and flicked on her lights.

Felina was tired so didn't sense someone had been in her home as she stepped in and locked the door. It had actually been a fairly boring day what with there being no activity from the omegas, other than the now vanished Metallikats. There had been nothing left to do other than reports and dealing with gangs, mobs families, drug dealers and the like.

With her uncle's best friend in town and most likely not alone, Felina suspected the quietness of the city was because of their activities. She had a feeling it was he and others that had taken out Mac and Molly Mange as the Enforcers and herself could find no trace of them. They hadn't turned up at Professor Hackle's and it wasn't like them to vanish that easily. All she knew was they were gone but she hoped it was permanently.

Removing her jacket, she tossed it on her sofa then removed her gun and holster placing it carefully on the table next to the couch. Stretching the kinks from her body, she walked through her living area, down her short hallway to her bedroom. Gratefully, she stripped her uniform off and put on some night wear before walking back toward her kitchen to make herself something to eat.

When Felina vanished into the other part of the apartment, T-Bone judged it time to make an appearance. Quietly, he opened the balcony door and stepped into the room and waited for her return.

As Felina headed back down her hall, she frowned at the sudden feel of cool air and the scent of someone in her home. On guard, she moved more slowly toward her living room, claws extended and ready. Peering into the room before stepping through, she blinked in shocked surprise. Standing near her balcony doors was the bigger of the two SWAT Kats.

Stepping the rest of the way into the room and relaxing her stance from attack mode she walked up to the tom. "T-Bone! What in the world are you doing here?" She demanded glad she'd opted to put on pajamas rather than her usual tank top and panties.

"Sorry about the unexpected visit, Lieutenant, but I have something important to ask you," T-Bone said earnestly. "May I sit down?"

"Uh, sure have a seat," she said, confused by his need to see her in her home something he'd never done before, as she waved him toward an armchair nearby then took a seat on the couch herself. He dropped heavily into the chair and stared at her.

"What is it you want to ask?" She said, tilting her head at him when he didn't speak immediately.

T-Bone had been going over this very question but still hadn't come up with the best way to ask it even after two hours of waiting. It seemed inappropriate of him to ask if she and her uncle had other family members in town since he couldn't explain why he wanted the information but how else could he ask. Right, bite the bullet and just ask it already, he chided himself.

"Beside your uncle and yourself, do you have any other family members living or visiting Megakat City?"

Felina blinked at him, caught off guard by the personal question. "Why do you ask?"

"Sorry...don't mean to be so personal but...well.. I happen to meet someone...who...shoot...this is hard...I know this is going to sound strange but earlier today I ran into this odd she-kat in town and something weird happen..." He knew it sounded really lame but how did he explain the new feelings he was having and the spark that had flared between him and that she-kat?

"Weird? Explain that and what did this she-kat look like?" Felina asked leaning forward, her curiosity piqued.

"Well, uh...she was taller than me by a couple of inches, with dark brown fur and short black hair cut bluntly at her shoulders, an athletic body, but what stood out were her gold eyes. She had this air of serenity and self-assuredness that surrounded her. However, it was when I touched her that things got weird. I only touched her arm but a jolt of something that felt like electricity sparked between us and ever since then I've had this intense feeling for her that I can't explain." He spread his paws to show how confused and worried he was about this.

As T-Bone struggled to explain his encounter, Felina felt her eyes widened in shocked surprise. Auntie is here in Megakat City? Is she here with Kazuma? She wondered. The fact her uncle hadn't known, told her Urabe was here on a mission and didn't want her brother to know.

That was certainly interesting news, but it was what T-Bone was describing that happened between him and her aunt that had her truly stunned. 'Oh, this is soo not good.' she thought knowing just how much her aunt couldn't stand the SWAT Kats. What had just happened no doubt had Urabe in a fit of fury.

But what could she say to T-Bone? She certainly couldn't tell him who he'd met and why he felt the way he did ... that was business between the two of them. So what to tell him?

"Uhm ... it certainly sounds as if she really got your attention, T-Bone. And I think I might know who it is you met," she winced inside at what she was about to say. 'Gee, I hope Urabe can forgive me for this but I don't' know what else to do.'

"You do?" T-Bone asked, standing up quickly all excited. "Could you…"

"Whoa, slow down big guy! I need to see if the one I think it is actually is in town before I can say where she might be," Felina said, bringing up a paw to halt his questions.

"You mean she doesn't live here?" He asked disappointment making his stomach clench in anguish. If she didn't live here and was perhaps visiting, he only had a short amount of time to find her.

"Yes and no. She has a summer home over in Megakat Springs that she uses when she comes visiting but her job requires her to travel a lot. She really doesn't stay long." Felina said somewhat truthfully.

"I see," he said, mildly disappointed but not deterred. "Thanks, Lieutenant. Do you mind if I drop by in a couple of days to see what you've found out?"

"I don't see why not. I think I should have something by then," she said agreeable then stood up to see him out.

"I really appreciate this, Lieutenant and I owe you one," T-Bone said, moving toward the front door, Felina switching direction when she realized the tom apparently had come through the front door.

"You owe me a lot, T-Bone," she laughed. "However, I believe you guys deserve some kind of repayment for all you've done for this city."

"Nice thought ... too bad it will never happen," T-Bone laughed as well. "See you soon, Lieutenant," he said, slipping out the door and heading down the hall away from her.

Felina watched him vanish into the door that led up to the roof before closing her door and locking it again. The late night conversation had drained the last of her energy and she was really tired. All she wanted now was food and sleep. She would go looking for Kazuma in the morning and ask him if he could get word to Urabe that she had someone looking for her. Since T-Bone had seen her aunt, then odds were good she was indeed here somewhere in the city. It would be up to her what she wanted to do about the tom looking for her.

Going into the kitchen, Felina flipped on the light and began puttering around making a late supper. She paused with a pan in her paw when a sudden unhappy thought occurred to her. "Oh, Uncle is so not going to be happy about this when he finds out," speaking outloud to herself. And neither would his other sibling, she realized.