Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
From here on out, there is a budding romance that is going to be building between two females. If this bothers you then I am sorry. The story wanted to go that way and I have absolutely no problem with it.
Thank you again to my Co-Author MisaRae for helping me get this right.
Ulysses finished filling out the forms that he was working on, he leaned back in his chair and turned to look out the window in his office as he thought, "I am going to miss this place." He then thought of possibly spending the rest of his life with Callista by his side and watching Felina's kitten growing up. Ulysses said as he stood up, "I have given 45 years of my life to this place and serving the city. It's time that I take care of myself. This job has cost me one marriage already and I'll be dammed if I am going to let it have possibly another." He removed his jacket from the coat rack, placed the forms in his jacket's breast pocket, and threw it over his right shoulder as he left his office.
Callista and Katerina were searching the store, looking for Callie and Felina. They could not find them anywhere. As they were walking out, the cashier realized that they had been with the other two she-cats, who had carried a third one out of the store. She said to Katerina and Callista, "Your other friends apparently had some sort of disagreement, and the two brunettes carried the blonde one out of the store."
Katerina turned and said to Callista, "I told you that they were going to get in trouble."
Callista just smiled as she thought, "How much trouble can those two get into in a shopping mall? Then again, Callie is always telling me how much Felina likes to live on the edge, and that trouble always seems to find her, whether she is looking for it or not!" She replied aloud, "We had better find them before Felina makes good on her promise to dye Callie's hair green."
As they left the store, Callie, Felina, and some other exotic looking she-cat were walking back towards them. Callie spotted Callista and Katerina, while Felina and Tina brought up the rear, discussing something about a new rifle that the Enforcers were getting.
Callista turned, saw her granddaughter looking slightly disheveled, and asked, "What happened to you, Callie?"
"Felina and her new friend Tina didn't exactly like me calling them sisters, so they dragged me out of the store. Then they threw me into a ball pit," Callie replied.
After Callie finished explaining to Callista and Katerina why she looked the way that she did, Felina said, "We did not drag you anywhere, Callie. We carried you, to be precise. By the way, Callista, Katerina, this is Cadet Cassidy, AKA Tina." She pointed to Tina as she was speaking.
Tina extended her right paw out to shake Callista's as she said, "It's nice to meet you.. Callista, right?" She wasn't exactly sure which she-cat was which, so she guessed.
"You have it right, Tina, and it's nice to meet you too," Callista replied as she shook Tina's paw.
Tina then turned to Katerina, and her heart started to thump in her chest. Callista was beautiful, but Katerina was gorgeous in her eyes. She gave Katerina a quick once over, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible as she reached out to shake Katerina's paw.
"It's nice to meet you, Tina," Katerina said as she took Tina's paw in hers.
Tina felt a tiny spark as their paws touched. She gulped and replied nervously, "It's nice to meet you too, Katerina."
Katerina also felt that tiny spark when they touched. She looked at Tina and saw her exotic markings, and how different Tina looked compared to the other she-cats that she knew. Something inside of her started to feel warm, and she somehow felt very comfortable being around Tina.
Tina let her paw linger, touching Katerina's for longer than strictly necessary. She really did not want to let Katerina's paw go, but she did. She turned away from Katerina in order to hide her blush.
None of this escaped Felina's notice, though. She said to Tina, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure, Felina. Please excuse us," Tina said as she was led away from the rest of the group.
Once they were out of ear shot, Felina spun Tina around so she faced her. She said as she looked intensely into Tina's eyes, "So what was that back there? Spill!"
"I don't know what you are talking about, Felina," Tina replied.
"Don't give me that line of crap, Tina. I saw the way that your face lit up when you saw Katerina, and then how you started blushing as your paws touched," Felina replied with a little more force.
"I still don't know what you are talking about, Lieutenant," Tina said as she turned and started walking away.
Felina lunged forward and grabbed Tina, spinning her around so that they faced each other and grasping her biceps to make sure she couldn't just walk away again. "Now I know something's up," Felina said. "You only call me Lieutenant when you are trying to hide something from me, Tina. It's not like you to get all mushy around another cat. Every male cadet at the academy has asked you out at least once, but you have turned them all down with the excuse that you needed to study, or you had to clean your weapon. Yet the moment I introduce you to Katerina, you start blushing and making eyes at her. It's just not like you at all, Tina."
Tina ripped her arms from Felina's grasp and yelled back, "How would you know, Felina, what I am like? You don't really know me! All you see is a tough little cadet who can hit a target from 200 yards with a sniper rifle!"
Felina placed her paws on Tina's shoulders and yelled back, "So what? Are you telling me that you like Katerina? All I have to say is: good, because you are partnering up with her. You are going to be the best of friends and partners in the sky."
"You just don't get it at all, Felina! I do like her!" Tina yelled back. Then she said a lot softer, "Just not as a comrade-in-arms or only a friend."
Felina was taken aback; she had never considered that Tina might be gay. Yet, here she telling her that she likes Katerina as a potential mate! She said, "I am sorry, Tina. I had no idea that you are into other females. It does not change a thing, including how I feel about you, though. You are still going to be the best gunner in the force, next to me of course. Now as far as Katerina goes, if you even think that you might have a shot of being with her, you are going to have to tell her how you feel, and, be totally honest with her. She has already been through too much pain in her life. She doesn't need to go through another heartbreak."
Tina had been half expecting Felina to throw her out of the academy the moment she revealed that she was gay. She never expected that Felina, with her outstanding military family pedigree, would even think of letting Tina stay on as a cadet. Yet here she was, telling Tina that she didn't care that she was into she-cats instead of toms. Tina looked down at the floor, because she really didn't want Felina to see how embarrassed she was. Not because of who she was, but because she had felt that she had to hide herself from Felina, and so hadn't been totally honest with her. Tina looked into Felina's eyes and said, "You have no idea how much it means to me, to hear you say that who I am does not change how you think of me. In my last city, they threw me out of the academy when they found out I was gay. When I asked why, they told me that they didn't condone 'that type' of behavior at the academy. I thought that you would do the same thing, once you found out that I am not as straight laced as the rest of the she-cats at the academy."
"There is no way I would have done that, Tina. Sure, there are still a few officers who might not accept you for who you are, but I am not one of them. None of the other cadets can do what you do at the range, and neither can a lot of the Enforcers. Tina, you have a very unique skill with a sniper rifle that I intend to hone until it is razor sharp. If you think that you are good with a weapon now, just wait until I am done with you. You are not only going to be able to hit the target from 200 yards, but you are going to be able hit the bulls-eye every time. Besides, do you know how many toms that are on the force are also not straight? My uncle would have a kitten himself if he ever found out," Felina said as she smiled at Tina.
Tina started to tear up because she had never felt so accepted since she had realized that she was of a different orientation. She reached out, gave Felina a hug, and said as she buried her face in Felina's shoulder, "You have no idea how much it means to me that you don't care that I am gay. Thank you."
Felina brought her arms around Tina and stroked her hair like a mother would to comfort her kitten as she said, "You are welcome, Tina."
They stayed like that for a minute, then Felina pulled back and said, "We had better get back before they start thinking that we are plotting something."
"You really love to keep people guessing, don't you, Felina?" Tina asked as she wiped her tears away.
"Yup, I do. No one knows what I am going to do or say next. That is why most of the officers stay clear of me when I am mad. They are afraid that I am going to use them as a punching bag," Felina replied as she held up a fist.
Tina suddenly had the mental image of Felina using a superior officer as a heavy bag, and Felina swinging her fists with all her might. Tina started to laugh as the scene played out in her mind.
"What's so funny now, Cadet Cassidy?" Felina asked Tina, as she placed both of her paws on her hips.
Tina stopped laughing when she heard Felina's voice. She replied, "Oh, not much, Lieutenant. Just the image of you using a captain as a punching bag, and the captain laying there on the floor in a bloody heap after you were done."
As soon as she heard the word 'Lieutenant' leave Tina's mouth, a wicked grin spread across Felina's face. "Remember how I said I like to keep everyone on edge?" she asked.
Tina saw the way Felina was grinning like a Cheshire cat, and it made her slightly nervous. As she started to slowly back away from Felina, trying to get a head start, if she needed to run, she said, "Yes, I do. What of it?"
Felina saw Tina's feet move ever so slightly, and realized that Tina was getting ready to make a break for it. Felina purposely let her grin fall away to put Tina at ease before saying, "Tina, none of my friends call me Lieutenant outside the academy, just for this reason." Felina pounced on Tina after Tina relaxed her posture just a hair.
When no other words or actions seemed to be forthcoming, Tina relaxed her posture just a hair.
"And here's why!" Felina cried as she pounced."
Tina cursed. She knew better than to let her guard down around Felina!. Tina fell back and tucked her body tightly into a ball in an attempt to avoid being tackled. It worked! Felina missed her by a few inches. She unfolded herself and took off down the hall, yelling back at Felina, "You have to be faster than that to catch me!"
Felina grinned with pride as Tina tucked and rolled to the side, throwing Felina slightly off-balance as her arms swiped at thin air. Her smile lingered as she turned to see Tina running back the way they had come, and heard her playful taunt. "You think so, Cadet? Just wait until I catch up with you!" Felina yelled, and took off running after Tina, grinning the whole time.
Callie, Callista, and Katerina were standing in front of the store contemplating what Felina had done to Tina, since they had been gone for more than a few minutes, when what looked like a black blur with dark brown hair ran past them, followed by Felina running with all her might, trying to catch up with whatever it was that just flew past them. They all looked at each other, trying to figure out one, what that blur was, and two, why Felina was chasing it.
Tina was just about to run out of the mall's exit doors, when she looked back over her shoulder to see how far ahead she was of Felina and collided with an older she-cat who was exiting another store. Both Tina and the she-cat were knocked onto their tails, and the she-cat's packages scattered everywhere.
Tina was the first to get up, and she held out her paw to help the older she-cat up as she said, "I am so sorry. Are you alright?"
The she-cat took Tina's paw and Tina helped her stand up. The she-cat dusted herself off and said, "You need to be more careful. Why were you running like that?" Then she looked at the way Tina was dressed, and said, "What self-respecting she-cat dresses in such a manner? Are you trying to get a date or something? You look like a common streetwalker. Those clothes are too tight, and show off way too much of your body!"
Felina caught up to and stopped beside Tina. She heard the older she-cat yelling at Tina and accusing Tina of being a prostitute. Felina had heard enough and yelled, "You have no right to call her that! She is just out for a day of fun with her new friends! If you haven't noticed, a lot of the younger she-cats dress like her. My friend has tried to apologize to you, and yet you accuse her of being something that she is not!"
"And who are you, missy, to tell me what I can and cannot say? This friend of your looks like nothing but trouble, running around here with no apparent regard for others, and the way that she is dressed, she might as well be hanging around downtown and picking up lonely toms," the older she-cat said.
Deep inside, Tina was furious at the older she-cat's accusations, but she held herself in check, so as not to escalate the situation. She calmly replied, "I am not a streetwalker, as you so rudely accused me of being, ma'am. I like being comfortable when I am not at the academy, and wearing clothing like this makes me feel comfortable. I am also not, as you said, 'nothing but trouble'. I have never been accused of any wrongdoing in my entire life. I have always been the good little girl that my parents wanted, and have always been respectful of others, even when they don't respect me. So please accept my apology for running into you and knocking you over. I never meant to cause you any harm, ma'am."
The older she-cat listened to Tina's words and calmed down. She said, "I am sorry for accusing you of being nothing but trouble, young lady. The area where I live has a lot of young she-cats that pick up toms nightly and dress very provocatively. Between the way that you are clothed, and your exotic markings, I assumed that you were one of them. I have called the Enforcers several times to complain, only to be told that there was not much they could do. It's frustrating to live in a once family oriented area, and watch it turn into a hole that no one wants to live in anymore."
Felina gathered up the she-cat's belongings as the she-cat apologized to Tina. Once she had the packages in her paws, she handed them back to the older she-cat and said, "I am a Lieutenant in the Enforcers ma'am. I don't know who you spoke to on the phone, but I intend to help you get your neighborhood back on its feet, and return it to the way it was. I am sure that Cadet Cassidy here would be more than happy to help me. You should feel safe when you are at home, and not have to see such things happening around your neighborhood." Felina handed the she-cat one of her business cards after she finished speaking.
"Thank you, young lady," the she-cat replied, then turned to Tina and said, as she took her bags from Felina, "You are going to make a fine Enforcer once you graduate from the academy. Again, I apologize for accusing you of being something that you are not."
Tina listened to the she-cat's apology and calmed down before replying, "No problem, ma'am. Please just think before you accuse someone of being something that they are not, and I appreciate that you think I am going to be a fine Enforcer."
The older she-cat waved good-bye as she left the mall. As soon as she was gone, Felina turned to Tina and said, "You handled that situation very well, Tina. I am going to recommend that you and Katerina get enrolled into accelerated training classes starting in two weeks. I want you two out there helping the citizens of this city, instead of wasting precious time at the academy."
"You think that I am ready for that, Felina? I still have a lot to learn, and I don't think the other cadets will appreciate me being singled out to join the accelerated program," Tina said.
Feilna placed her paws on Tina's shoulders and said, "You let me worry about the other cadets, Tina. Now back to the discussion we were having before about you calling me Lieutenant outside the academy." Before Tina even knew what hit her, Felina leaned down, one hand moving from Tina's shoulder to her lower back, while the other swept down, knocking Tina's legs out from under her. In one swift movement, Felina hoisted Tina up over her shoulder, resisting the urge to smack Tina's backside like a naughty kitten before setting off to rejoin their group.
Tina felt herself being thrown over Felina's shoulder, but there was not much she could have done about it. She just felt like a sack of potatoes as she was carried back towards the center of the mall. She crossed her arms over her chest as Felina smiled like a huntress carrying her prey back home.
Callie was talking to Callista and Katerina when Felina came into her view, carrying Tina over her shoulder. Callie had to break down in laughter at the sight.
Katerina and Callista were wondering what Callie was laughing at, when Felina stood beside them and said, "Tina dared to call me Lieutenant outside of the academy. I say that she deserves to be taught a lesson, wouldn't you all agree?" As she finished speaking, Felina developed a toothy grin on her face.
Callie knew better than to argue with Felina, especially when she had that grin on her face. She elbowed Callista and Katerina in order to tell them, "It's better to go along with her than face her wrath later."
Callista and Katerina shrugged their shoulders, trying not to worry about what Felina had planned.
Felina took that as a sign of agreement and said, "Tina, we are all going to a spa and be made to feel like goddesses. Your punishment is to be a pampered she-cat for the rest of the day. I know you hate that type of stuff, but you are going to have to endure it. After we are done, we are all going to have dinner together at some fancy restaurant of Callie's choosing. Does that sound like a suitable punishment, Cadet?"
Tina wanted to tell Felina 'No way in hell would I ever be caught dead getting pampered in a spa!' She preferred the smell of gun oil and grease to perfumes and scented oils. But considering her current situation, and Felina being so un-predictable, she just pouted and said, "Whatever you say, Felina."
"Good! I knew that you would see it my way, Tina," Felina said to her captive, who was still over her shoulder. Then she turned to Callie and said, "Spas are more your department, Callie, Lead us to a real good one that has those fluffy robes and slippers. Ooo, and hunky masseuses, too! We definitely need a big, strong tom to work the kinks out of our bodies!"
Callie and Callista started chuckling at Felina's comments, but Katerina took one look at Tina and realized that Tina was not going to enjoy their outing one bit. Katerina couldn't help but feel sorry for her. 'Most she-cats would love to be massaged and pampered by a big, strong tom, but Tina looks absolutely miserable,' Katerina thought. Then she took a real good look at Tina's face, and continued, 'She does look awfully cute when she's pouting, though.' That train of thought brought Katerina up short. 'Where did that come from? Her looks are rather striking, but cute? What is wrong with me? It wasn't that long ago I told T-Bone how much I still love him, and here I am finding another cat, a she-cat at that, attractive!' Katerina looked away from Tina for just a moment, but her eyes seemed to wander back of their own accord. Tina's forlorn expression tugged on Katerina's heart and made it beat just a little bit faster. 'Yes, definitely cute,' she thought.
They all left the mall and piled into Felina's car to head towards the spa.
End of chapter.