((I want to apologize to anyone who was disappointed in my last posting. I am just… sort of in a rut with the next section of A Chance to Live. I am not trying to gloss over anything. Trust me when I say everything in this storyline will probably be overly detailed before it's done, rather than less.
The first person blog from Chance is still the best way I was able for him to articulate how he felt after waking up with his head injury. I just maybe didn't time it well.
I should point this out. For those who were worried, A Chance to Die chapter one does indicate that both SWAT Kats have survived past this encounter in their lives. A Chance to Live, A Chance to Die and the as yet unposted Clawson Labs Blog are all part of the same timeline. A Date with Felina and Stars are unrelated to these guys.
ANYWAY this small scene popped into my head afterwards. I started it hours after Cody Furlong's review. Because SOMEBODY IS DISAPPOINTED I MUST FIX THIS. So yes, please review. It spurs me on.
This post is going to be Felina and Callie centric and I'm thinking it will help smooth the path and transition the story better.
I do not own SWAT Kats. I am not profiting from this fanfic in any way shape or form, other than my own amusement and the amusement of others. Some OCs who did not appear in the cartoon belong to me.))
"Really, he was awake?" Callie asks, looking at T-Bone's prone figure. The nurse who was resetting something on one of the many IV pumps assured her that he was simply asleep. Not comatose, and not drugged unconscious, though he'd had a hefty dose of pain meds. Just naturally asleep.
After a moment of hesitation, the Deputy Mayor steps forward and cups her hand over the burly tomkat's restrained fist. His eyelids flutter a second and one slits open, taking a moment to focus. He gives her a sleepy, droopy thumbs up before seeming to doze off again. Callie exhales with relief and glances over at Felina, who is grinning.
"Nith to thee, ithn't it Deputy Mayor?" Feral's niece is standing in the doorway, grinning. Her lip and eye are puffy and changing colors, her cheek is puffed out, and those blood stains on her uniform may never come out, but none of that is bothering her.
"It certainly is, Lieutenant," Callie agrees with a smile.
"Come on. Let'th leddim thleep," Felina lisps, and both she-kats walk out towards the busy nurse's desk in the ICU. The Officer and Sergeant at guard outside the room salute smartly as the two pass by.
When Callie had learned that Felina had seen T-Bone conscious, she was eager to see for herself. However she'd insisted that Felina get her mouth seen to in the ER first. They hadn't even had to sign in. A friendly nurse had packed the empty socket ("Consider this a freebie," she'd said, "because I am not doing 'visitor incident' paperwork on a day like this.") It didn't take long, but by the time they were done and Felina more resembled a chipmunk than a Kat, T-Bone had been moved back into an ICU room. And apparently he was comfortable enough to doze off.
The hospital was slowly moving patients back in, those who hadn't been out and out discharged or transferred to other facilities anyway. At the nurse's desk the staff are kind of running around chaotically, with irritated expressions. There are only two patients left in the ICU, including T-Bone. But after the evacuation, power blips freezing computers and some hasty transfers to other facilities, the records are a messy nightmare.
There's a small alcove with chairs and a coffee maker between a couple of the patient rooms, and Felina heads inside. "'Ow d'you take your coffee, Callie? Black?" she asks.
The two she-kats had had good long hours available to them to get to know each other better, and while they still addressed each other properly in public they were apt to go on a first name basis when it was just the two of them.
"Yes, black please, Felina," Callie murmurs as she sits on the edge of a chair. She sets her briefcase down next to her chair and straightens the skirt of her suit dress with a hand.
Felina's back is to Callie as she's pouring, then coffee cup in hand she turns. "...Hey. You alright?" Felina says kindly, spotting Callie wiping at suspicious eye moisture with the heel of her hand.
She holds out the cup and Callie takes it with a quiet thank you. "I don't know why I'm crying. I should be thankful and relieved about T-Bone… he seems with it... Didn't he seem with it to you, Lieutenant?" She questions and Felina nods more.
Felina wasn't certain how Callie had come to that conclusion by one thumbs up, but she wasn't about to contradict her. "Yeah I think he recognithed uth both. Anyway, don't feel bad. I get the thame way thomtimes. Hate theeing my coworkers in hosthpitals." She's pouring herself a half cup.
"I find it hard to believe that you're ever as silly about it as I am, Felina," she mutters.
"Ith not "thilly", Callie. Nothin' thilly about your feelingth at a hurt friend," Felina replies, her voice perhaps a bit steely. She settles down into a chair next to the Deputy Mayor.
"I'm sorry. I can't say anything right today," Callie says, twisting a handkerchief she'd pulled from her briefcase in her hands. "The worst part is the not knowing, I think. I don't know what this city will do without them- oh, Felina, I'm sorry, that wasn't meant to be a dig," she exclaims.
Felina shrugs. "S'ok. I know how you mean it. An' it'th troo. I dunno where the cidy would be widout dem eider. We Enfortherth need some of dere mithiles an' two or tree Turbokaths." she jokes. "Would -love- to take dat girl for a testh drive." Her expression fades however and she glances uncomfortably at the wall separating them from T-Bone's room. "Unforthunately the Turbokat Ith scrap. And we may be wifout dem for a good long while, if not for good."
Callie shudders. "I know Dr. Bengal has already said T-Bone's going to have a long recovery. I don't know how this internal bleed will change Razor's healing if... I mean, when. I mean..." She sighs frustrated and Felina nods.
"No I get you. He'll be okay, you'll thee." She wonders for a moment about the Deputy Mayor- Callie wasn't usually so... Flustered. But maybe she was reading too much into it.
"...Felina. What -are- we going to do without them?" Callie asks suddenly.
Felina shakes her head slightly, with a cup of coffee in her own hand. "No need to borrow trouble. We'll take it day by day from dere."
"Alright. I'll let tomorrow take care of itself," Callie says firmly. "I don't need to make up problems. Though it's hard not to consider the obvious. With the SWAT Kats injured, I can only imagine the opportunities that our local bad Kats may take."
Felina muses over the only two that she is aware are left, Viper and Dark Kat. Well, and Pastmaster. But he'd not been seen for years. They couldn't be that unlucky... Could they? Her own forgotten cup of coffee is still in hand. "Hope Viper thay's hidden. He kind of worrith me more dan Dark Kat. Ol' Thhhhhnakeputh... Argh. Th...Ssssnn.." She makes a face and has to dab at the spittle on her fat lip with a napkin.
"…..You know, Felina, you really should head to a dentist."
"What're dey gonna do? I didn' keep da toof," Felina points out, and Callie can't help but chuckle.
"I guess there isn't much they could do then."
Felina shakes her head, poking at the gauze with her tongue. "Loothing a toof wath worth it to get Mac."
"I wish I could of seen your Uncle smacking Mac with that baton of his."
"It wath great. Mac deservth every blow," Felina says with feeling "an' I think Ungle deservthed being th' one delivering." The two she-kats share a good chuckle together, and Callie sips cautiously at the coffee.
"Mmm, the elixir of life."
"Bad for you. Too muth cahfeen," Felina says briskly.
"Ah but at least I'll have died happy, hopefully with almond flavored house blend in my veins." Callie sips again and glances up as there's a flurry of activity in an empty room. A nurse is lowering the empty bed and checking the equipment in the wall. A second nurse scurries in with an armful of linens and a spray bottle. She dumps the linens on a chair then starts attacking the stripped bed and every other hard surface with the spray.
"Where's Environmental Services at?!" the first nurse complains, as she grabs paper towels and starts frantically wiping.
The second one with the spray shakes her head, but keeps spraying. "Evacuated, like everybody else. Don't have time to wait for them to waddle back in. If we're not ready by the time Fisch gets here, she's gonna have kittens. They're going to come straight from OR."
"I was sooooo relieved when she finally retired… and here she's back. It's like my worst nightmares have come to life," the first nurse moans as she attacks the bed rails.
"...Dr. Fisch was the surgeon. They must be talking about Razor," Callie says, hope in her voice. "He must be alright!"
Felina sighs, sounding suspiciously like relief there. Perhaps she was more worried than she let on. She pauses to blow the steam away from her own coffee before taking a tiny sip. "You really care about bof of dem don't you?" Felina asks and Callie flushes a little.
"Well. They do save my life with shocking regularity," she replies lightly.
Felina grins at her over her cup. "No, you're turning pink. You -like- dem," she accuses playfully.
Callie rolls her eyes. "Of course I like them. They're my friends. They're good Kats…." she starts to argue, then trails off. "Don't look at me like that."
Felina raises an eyebrow. "Look at you like what? I'm not lookin' at you like anyfing," she grins. "Callie an… whith one? T-Bone? Thittin' in a twee…" she retorts.
Callie makes a pfft noise with her mouth, some of her hair floating in the breeze. "Stop that. Maybe there's some attraction. I mean, they're both gentle-Kats. And they're both physically… er. Well." Felina snickers as Callie tries to pull a straight face. "But I don't think it'd work out," she admits.
"How come? Do you got some secret dirdy habitths to hide?" Felina presses.
"Goodness, I hope not!" she laughs. "But I do sometimes wonder…. if I feel so strongly about them both because they've saved me so often. Sort of a… a dependency. That's not really the underpinnings of a stable relationship, is it?"
Felina shrugs again. "You may have a point," she admits, and makes a face at her coffee cup. Belatedly she'd realized hot liquids are not the best thing to sip when you're trying to stop a bleeding wound in your mouth. She sets the coffee aside and slumps in the chair a bit, tilting her head back. "It thoundth like a thyndrome. Like... Stockholm." She has to articulate quite carefully to get the S sound out.
"No that's the one where you get attached to your kidnapper. Goodness knows that I have had enough opportunities for that. Can you imagine?" She shudders with revulsion.
"Ick! I can thee you as Dark Kat's dark bride maybe," she muses and Callie makes a face.
"Only if I get to wear a big gothy chain on my shoulder," she quips.
Felina laughs and says, "You would wear it bedder dan Dark Crud. But If you -were- to become a villaineth, I can't thee you being dependent on a tom. I've alwayth theen you as…. I don't know. A power player in thith town. You made your job your own and you're breaking down boundarieth. Drat." she frowns, since she'd almost gotten a whole sentence out that sounded normal, and failed at the end. "Double drat."
"Felina, you're one of the few she-kats in the Enforcers. I'm the last person you should think of as 'breaking down boundaries'."
"Tho what if I'm in the Enfortherth? There'th no increath in she-Kat-thhs entering th' ranks afther me. But I've had little girlths tell me they want to be like Mith Briggs."
"You have not," Callie accuses.
Felina shrugs. "It'th true, I haven't. I lied. But it thounded good."
Callie rolls her eyes and takes another sip of her coffee. "...Maybe something could engineer an increase in she-Kats entering the Enforcers….." she muses.
Felina glances at her. "Like what?"
She shakes her head. "Some sort of publicity to recruit more females. Maybe an ad campaign that she-kats are welcome?"
Felina snorts. "What gave you that idea? They aren't welcome."
"Well, why should that be?" Callie questions. "Aren't she-Kats capable?"
"The toms don't like to be in battle bethides a she-Kat. It'th all misguided thhhhivalry. They worry that they're going to have to protect them. Tho the girlths get forthed out during boot."
"What's different about yourself?"
"II don't let any tom outdo me, and I'm good at what I do. But anything to increath recruits Ith a good idea. They're getting leth and leth recruiths, nobody wanth to be eaten by a giant bactheria or blown up by alienths." She waves her hands frustratedly. "But back to point. I wath trying to thay not to let your happineth be affected by thom worries about dependenthy."
She blinks. "My happiness?" Callie questions
"Zactly. Don't waste any time. Tho thpill, Callie... Which one ith it?" Felina asks.
Callie stares at her in bafflement for a moment before the meaning of those words comes to her. "For goodness sake, Lieutenant!" she exclaims.
"Come on." Felina elbows her playfully.
"It's a silly question! I like them both equally!" she protests, with cheeks burning. When she sees the disbelieving expression on Felina's face, she scowls at her. "I have the right to remain silent," Callie says stubbornly.
"For all you know, dere mawwied," Felina says slyly.
"To each other?" Callie retorts sarcastically, and Felina makes a loud HAH! Peals of girlish giggles ring out from the sitting area.
"Well nooo.. I didn' tink of dat," she replies. " but dey could be! Wid ten kits between dem! You may be a homewrecker."
"Please, you're breaking my heart," Callie says dramatically, and they're both giggling again like ninnies.
Once the giggles had lapsed a little, Felina broaches the subject again. "Well afther you are done breaking up the SWAT Kats marriage TO EACH OTHER…."
"Felina, for goodness sake!"
"I'm just teasing you. But about what you thaid earlier. If you feel thomthing for one of dem go for it."
Callie sighed, staring into get coffee up. Felina raises an eyebrow as the Deputy Mayor isn't arguing with her. "That would be a breach of a professional relationship," she replies briskly.
"Why? Dere not your employees," Felina points out. "Uh. Wait. Dere not your employees are dey?"
Before Callie can retort, the ICU doors fly open and an entourage of staff enter. They're escorting a patient on a bed with myriad equipment and IVs and an irritable looking older woman in green scrubs is in the lead.
"Oh my," Callie murmurs, standing, and Felina gets to her feet as well. The fur color indicates it's most assuredly Razor.
Barry is following close behind and looking a little green under his fur. Felina heads over with Callie and Barry makes a rather lackluster salute towards her. "What'th wrong wif you?" Felina asks.
Barry gulps before responding. "Blood. Hate the sight of blood. What's wrong with your mouth Lieutenant?" he asks, spotting the puffy eye and cheek.
Felina pulls her lip upwards to expose a wad of bloody gauze and Barry gulps again, eyes glazing over. "Lieutenant... Deputy Mayor, excuse me," he stammers and swiftly makes a beeline for the nearest "Restrooms" sign.
The staff are moving Razor into the room and the doctor pauses in her ordering them about to eye Callie and Felina. "And who are you?" the surgeon asks, with a less pronounced accent now that things are somewhat more in control.
"Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs, Doctor," she replies in her best politics voice. "I'd like to ask-"
"Are you family?" the bruske doctor interrupts, and Callie is startled into a moment of silence. "Why no, but-"
Dr. Fisch holds up a hand to forestall her. "Ut, ut, ut, my dear, I cannot be givink out the personal information," the surgeon says grandly. "If you will excuse me. Hy must write orders because dere seems to be an absence of hospitalists in this building." She sniffs, obviously disapproving of this situation. And with that the door is slammed quite firmly in both their faces.
"...Well! She certainly told me," Callie says wryly.
"Dat was de ol' retired thurgeon?" Felina questions. "Glad I'm not a nurth. Hate to have to work under her."
"Uh huh. She brings up a good point though," she muses. "Who -would- make decisions for them if… I mean, you understand. 'If.'"
Felina pauses. "Huh. I dunno. But dey was asking Ungle some things cause… well. He was dere wit T-Bone."
Callie eyes her a moment. "... Uh huh. Amazing he's still alive," she quips, at which Felina's hackles bristle a bit. "Oh don't. But we should… I'll try to get a lawyer involved.
"Oh yeth… a lawyer, jus' what we need."
Now it's Callie's turn to glower at her and Felina grins. "Prethent company acthepted?" and Callie can't hold back a grin.
"Alright. That was a low and dirty blow but I deserved it."
Then they're both laughing in the hall like a couple loons.
Curious glances are thrown their way, though the look Barry is giving them as he returns is utterly disapproving. "What're you two banshees hooting about?" he grumbles.
They both stare a moment, then Felina grins. She opens her mouth wide and gives him another view.
"Argh!" Barry whines, holding his hands up in front of his eyes. "You are one crazy she-kat, Lieutenant!" he snaps, and the ladies dissolve into crazy gales of laughter all over again.
"Poor Sergeant Bagheera! You shouldn't tease him like that Felina," Callie says with a grin once she's finally collected herself. Then the ICU room door opens and a few staff filter out. Inside is Dr. Fisch and a couple nurses, and Razor, plugged into myriad items around the bed. "Excuse me," Callie says distractedly, and she hurries in.
"Yeah don't tease me like that, Lieutenant, Briggs says so," he grumbles, watching Callie who's moved swiftly to Razor's bedside.
Felina ignores the insubordination and leans her shoulder against the door frame. Razor is on a vent but he doesn't have as many tubes and wires as T-Bone. Still, he looks like hell. A transfusion is hanging from the IV pole and Fisch is complaining about some minor imperfection in the linens on the bed. The nurses have smiles frozen on their faces.
"Did things go okay in dere?" Felina questions.
Barry hesitates before he answers. "I think the surgery did anyway. That short little surgeon lady knew what she was doing," he says. "I didn't know surgery was that… I dunno. It's not like on 'Memorial Hospital.' I thought in the operation room it would be all hush hush with the doctor snapping 'Scalpel!' and some nurse right at his elbow mopping his forehead with a sponge. Nothing like it. It was chaos, at least it was until they found whatever was bleeding. Once he wasn't dying in front of them the whole atmosphere changed while they finished whatever they were finishing. They turned on the rock music and the whatever, the guy who ran all the oxygen and gas and stuff? He spent more time playing with the radio than anything else. And it was still loud but it was routine loud, you know." He gulps. "There was still a lot of blood though. They had to drain it out of his stomach." He shudders, eyes closed.
"Why'd you go in with him if you're tho thqueamith?" Felina asks curiously.
"That's my job. It's a good thing I did too. Had to stop a surgical tech with a cell phone camera from sneaking a pic... Uh... But. He briefly unmasked him," he mutters, shamefaced.
Felina stares at him. "What?" she asks, incredulous. "Where were you?!"
"I'm sorry Lieutenant, I was uh…. cowering over a bucket at the time. Like I said, he pulled his mask before I could stop him. But I got the guy. He's going to have a headache tomorrow," he says darkly. "Uh... I didn't make an arrest, Lieutenant. I have his name though..."
She taps fingertips on her leg, seemingly in thought. "I don't know if we wanna do dat or justh let it go... I don't think I want to make a criminal report. The entire organizathion can look at it. Lemme think."
He nods. "That's kind of... Yeah. Why I didn't."
"Hmm. Maybe I'll take care of it mythelf. Did you thee?" Felina asks.
"Yeah, I guess," he says with a shrug, like it's no big deal.
Did you recognith him?" She asks and Barry shakes his head. "No, not really. Should I have?"
"... No can't think why you would. An' nobody thaid they recognithed him?"
He shook his head. "One of the nurses covered Razor's head pretty quick... You know... People really must respect those two in this town. You coulda stirred the anger in that room with a stick. That Dr. Fisch almost chewed him up and spit him out. I never saw a tom run so fast. I don't think I got to worry while she's in there," he adds, inclining his head towards the doorway into the patient room. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I've disobeyed all sort of orders today and done a poor job at the ones I followed," he grumbles.
She seems to ponder this a long moment. "Come on and leth talk. And get you some coffee." Felina wraps her arm over Barry's shoulder, and the Sergeant looks at her suspiciously a second before he sighs.
"Yeah maybe I can stomach some coffee."
"Good, come sit down a minute den. We better get usthed to each odder cauth I think dis is da start of a beautiful fwiendthip," Felina says with a smirk.
Barry sighs again, in a most long suffering manner. "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this conversation."