Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
First of all, a big Thank you to my Co-Author MisaRae, just because she deserves it.
Second, Welcome aboard RedlBlossom, enjoy your flight.
A very quick reminder:
"I will do as you say, father," the hostess said, then hung up the phone.
Her father hung up the phone and then said, "So, Callista, your death was just a deception to keep us away from your family. You have been a thorn in our sides for centuries. Now, it's time for us to take our revenge, and if you don't comply with our wishes? Your granddaughter will pay, with her life."
Callista was lying on her stomach, enjoying the massage that Ferdinand was giving her. Her head was turned to the left, and her hair had been pulled out of the way so Ferdinand could get to her upper back unimpeded. She had her eyes closed, and let out very soft moans as he worked her muscles with his paws. Her mind started to wander as she fell into a state of bliss. She subconsciously reached out to Ulysses' mind with hers, and saw that he was driving his patrol car to who knows where. She said with her mind, "Hi Ulysses, I was just thinking about you, and wanted to see what you were doing?"
Ulysses was driving home in order to pack a bag as Callista had requested. He was on a side street when he heard Callista's voice from out of nowhere. He was so surprised to hear Callista's voice that he almost hit a parked car. He jerked the wheel just before they collided. Ulysses parked the car in an open spot on the street before he said aloud, "I must be hallucinating. I just thought I heard Callista's voice. I must be more in love with her than I thought."
Callista heard Ulysses' reply, and started to blush ever so slightly. She replied, "No, Ulysses, you are not hallucinating. I can talk to you with my mind. Just think of what you want to say, and I can hear it."
Ulysses fought down a wave of nervousness, but it wasn't the fact that Callista could speak to him with just her mind that made him hesitate. It was the fact that he had just admitted to loving her where it was clear she could overhear him. He thought, "So I guess you heard what I said, Callista, and to answer your question, I was on my way home to pack a small bag."
"So, what would you like for dinner? I am currently with Felina and a few of her friends, as well as Callie. We are having a fun day out, with just us she-cats. Right now I am having a massage, and the rest of them are in a hot spring right now, I think. I should be back at my apartment in time to make us something," Callista replied. Then Ferdinand hit a very tough knot in her back that she hadn't even known was there. She let out a deep moan as he worked the knot out.
Ulysses heard her reply, followed by the moan. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous that another tom had his paws on her, and was making her moan like that. He replied, "I need to have a very long conversation with Jake and my niece tonight about this whole SWAT thing. I don't know how long that is going to take."
"Now don't you start getting jealous Ulysses; Ferdinand may have his paws on me now, but I am yours for all eternity. That is, if you want me?" Callista replied, without considering the fact that Ulysses could hear every word she thought.
Ulysses' palms grew slick with sweat, and he gripped the steering wheel for dear life; Callista just confessed to him that she would be his for all eternity. He hadn't felt this strongly for a she-cat since he had dated her all those years ago. He asked with a very nervous thought, "What would make you think that I don't want to be with you?"
Callista almost jumped off of the table when she heard his reply. Her body suddenly became rigid with fear. She had not felt such a strong pull towards another since her husband died. She did not want to destroy any chance she had with Ulysses, but she also knew that he wanted to take it slow. Yet she had just admitted to him that she would be his for life! Callista replied, also very nervously, "I am an immortal sorceress, Ulysses, which should be enough to scare off any tom."
"I am not a normal tom, Callista. I am a tom that is hopelessly in love with a beautiful, immortal sorceress," Ulysses thought.
Callista's body tensed up again as she heard the word 'love' enter her mind. Her mental voice trembled as she asked, "You are in love with me?"
Ulysses smiled, feeling a little more at ease that Callista was obviously as nervous as he was. Even so, he never wanted her to feel uncomfortable or uncertain around him. All he wanted her to feel was his love for her. He answered, "Yes, I am Callista, and do you love me?"
Callista didn't have to even think about the answer. She replied "Yes, Ulysses, I do love you," as she let her body relax.
Ulysses let go of the wheel and wiped his paws on the seat as he let himself come down from the high that he had been on ever since she said that she would be his. He replied, "Why don't you join us tonight? We can all have dinner and discuss where this SWAT mess goes. I am not fond of having vigilantes running around my city, doing the things that I only wish the Enforcers could do."
"I would love nothing more, Ulysses. Please call me and let me know what time you are picking me up, and I will be ready," Callista said.
"Callista, if I had never been deployed to that hole overseas, I would have asked for your paw in marriage all those years ago. I don't want to replace what you had with Steven; he loved you and Serena to no end. But I just can't help but wonder if our lives would have turned out the same if you had been my wife, and not Adara," Ulysses said.
Callista contemplated what Ulysses was asking; she had no idea how to answer his question. She never regretted a single moment that she had with Steven, and she never would. After thinking about it for a minute and shielding those thoughts from Ulysses, she replied, "I have no idea, Ulysses, if our lives would be the same. I might be 500 years old, and have all of the knowledge and wisdom that goes along with it, but as I told Callie, what the gods have in store for any of us is beyond my knowledge." Ferdinand hit another stubborn knot in her back, and she let out another groan.
"Callista, if you keep doing that, I am going to drive over there and beat the crud out of that masseuse. The only one that I want making you moan and groan like that is me. When we are both ready, that is," Ulysses said as he clenched his fists.
Callista's face turned bright red as she read Ulysses' thoughts. Then she chuckled and replied, "When we are both ready to take that step, I am sure that we both will be moaning and groaning. See you later, lover." She severed the mind link between the two of them.
Meanwhile, Antonio was finishing up Katerina's massage. She was in such a deep state of relaxation that she actually fell asleep. As she slept, she started dreaming of what life would be like living with Tina in a few years. She saw them both vividly, working in the garden alongside of the house they had bought together. They were planting a few flowering plants when their adopted daughter ran up to them both, yelling happily as she carried a small jar with a butterfly in it, "Mommies! Take a look what I caught!"
They both stopped what they were doing and dropped the tools to the ground as they turned towards their daughter and looked at the jar she was holding.
Katerina opened her arms and their daughter ran into them. She closed her arms around their daughter and said, "Gwendyln, what a beautiful butterfly you have there. It is almost as beautiful as you are."
Tina placed her left arm around Katerina's waist, turned her attention to their daughter, and said, "Katerina is right, Gwendyln. That butterfly pales in comparison to your beauty. Be sure to let it go now. We don't want to hurt it, right?"
"Yes mommy, I don't want to hurt it," Gwendyln replied as she opened the jar and the butterfly took off. Gwendyln ran out of Katerina's arms and chased after the butterfly, laughing as it flew away.
Tina turned to Katerina and said, "I am so glad that we found Gwendyln. I could not be happier, now that we are a family." She kissed Katerina after she finished speaking.
Katerina felt her wife's kiss, and she pulled back ever so slightly before saying, "I could not be happier either, Tina. Between having you as my wife and having a loving daughter. I want no more from life." This time, it was her turn to kiss Tina.
The dream ended, and Katerina just lay on the table smiling the whole time, wishing that the dream would become a reality.
Tina, Callie, and Felina were soaking in the pool that the hot springs emptied into. They all had their eyes closed as they let the hot water encompass their bodies.
Felina opened her eyes and looked at Tina. She asked, "Tina, can I ask you something personal?"
Tina opened her eyes and looked directly at Felina, before replying, "I don't see why not. Go ahead and ask."
Felina did not want to offend her new friend, but it had been on her mind since their conversation at the mall. She asked, "How did you find out that you were gay?"
Tina looked at her lap through the steamy water. That was a part of her life that had really difficult for her, and she did not like talking about it. But Felina had not judged or taunted her at all so far, so she figured she could trust Felina. She replied, "I was in high school when I found out that I preferred she-cats over toms. I was a cheerleader, and before you say anything that will make me want to drown you, yes, I actually did the whole popular girl thing in school. The football team had just won the championship, and we were all invited to a party at the quarterback's house since his parents were away. As the night went on, everyone was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol on them and were starting to get bolder with their actions. Lots of couples were in the living room dancing and grinding against each other. Several toms on the football team had asked me to dance and possibly hook-up later as a bedroom became available. I was not interested in either, so I turned them all down. The head cheerleader did take one of them up on their offer to dance. She was in the middle of the living room floor, bumping and grinding against two toms at the same time. Those two toms took that as a sign that she was willing to go further. They took her upstairs, and I didn't see her again for about half an hour. That was when she ran back down the stairs with her clothing in tatters. I got up, went to her, and placed my jacket over her shoulders as the two toms walked down the stairs, fastening their pants and tucking in their shirts. I figured out what went on up there and took her home. After we arrived at her house, we walked up to her front door. She opened it and we went inside. We both sat on the couch in the living room. She leaned over and started crying into my left shoulder.
"As she cried, she said, 'I can't believe those two toms tried to get me to sleep with them. Sure, I was willing to give them a good time to a point, but I was not going to go all the way with them. I am so stupid!'
"I just let her bawl and vent as long as she needed to. Finally, she calmed down and pulled back to look at my face. Her make-up was smeared and running down her cheeks from all the tears. I just wanted to protect her and make her feel safe again. I'd only meant to kiss her cheek, but then she turned her head to try and see what I was doing, and I ended up kissing her on the lips! It surprised me at first, but after the first few seconds, I realized that I liked kissing another she-cat. I never felt that way while kissing a tom; it actually repulsed me having a tom's lips against mine.
"She pulled back and asked, 'Why did you just kiss me, Tina?'
"I replied, 'I am not really sure, Becky. I just know that I liked it. How about you?'
"'I guess it was nice. Can you kiss me again?' Becky asked.
"I complied, leaning in and kissing her again, but this time I put a little more passion behind the kiss.
"She responded very favorably to the kiss. She even deepened it, letting her lips part so my tongue could slip past. I don't know how long it went on, but it was long enough that I honestly believed she was into it.
"Becky eventually pulled back and said, 'Wow, I never thought that just being kissed would feel so good. My parents are gone for the weekend, would you stay the night?'
"I was not thinking straight either; the alcohol must have been affecting my judgment. I simply got up and extended my right paw to her. She got up from the couch, led me to her bedroom, and we slept together.
"On Monday morning, the whole school knew that I slept with Becky and started taunting me about sleeping with another she-cat. All my so-called friends turned on me and I was alone.
"I confronted Becky, and she said, 'I was drunk, and you took advantage of me! I would never willingly sleep with another she-cat, unlike you. By the way, you're off the squad. I can't have the other girls thinking that they are going to be hit on.' She walked away, flipping her hair over her shoulder, and I ran out of the school. That was when I knew that I was gay." She brought her knees up to her chest and placed her head on her knees.
Felina had not meant to prod Tina into sharing something that was painful for her. She was Tina's friend now, after all, and felt horrible that she made Tina feel bad. She got up and sat down next to Tina before placing her left arm around Tina's shoulders and gently pulling her close. Then she wrapped her right arm around Tina, too, giving her a reassuring hug. Felina said, "I had no idea you went through something so painful Tina. I can't tell you that I feel your pain, because I would be lying if I did. You did not have to tell me that story, but you did. I am glad you feel comfortable enough around me and Callie to open up to us. It shows that you trust us as much as we trust you."
Tina lifted her head and turned toward Felina. She still had a few tears in her eyes from such a painful memory, but now she was with friends that accepted her wholeheartedly for who she is, and a new lover in her life that would treat her well. She replied, after she wiped the tears away, "Felina, you have showed me twice today that you are a true friend. If I was not just getting involved with Katerina, and I knew that you were available, I might have made a pass at you." She winked at Felina, letting her know that she was joking.
Callie was sitting there, fuming and contemplating Tina's tale 'How could a cat do that to another? This Becky must have been a real bitch.' She felt her anger boiling inside of her, and clenched her paws into tight fists that were now glowing an angry shade of red under the water.
Felina looked over at Callie, and saw her paws balled into glowing fists. She let go of Tina and quickly crossed the pool to Callie. She said, "Girl, you are in a hot spring at a prestigious spa. Tone it down just a hair, would you?"
Callie wasn't sure what Felina was talking about. Then she looked down at her glowing paws. Callie's lips formed an 'O' as she tried her best to calm down. Unfortunately, she had built up so much magical power in her paws that she could not quell it. Callie quickly looked around and saw a bin over in the corner of the room that held used towels. She held up her paws and let the magic out. The bin took the brunt of her magic, blasting a small hole in the side of the plastic bin. Callie then closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as she allowed herself to relax.
Tina watched as Callie blasted a hole in the towel bin. She could not believe what she had just seen. She had always been told that magic and supernatural powers were things only found in fairy tales. They couldn't possibly be real! Yet there was Callie, blasting a hole in a plastic bin with her bare paws. She couldn't help but wonder what else Callie was capable of, and the thought made her nervous.
Felina looked away from Callie and turned to Tina. She saw that Tina had a very apprehensive look on her face, and she was looking directly at Callie. Felina turned back to Callie and said, "Sit back and relax, Callie. I have to talk to Tina." She walked back across the pool and sat down on Tina's left. Felina placed her right paw on Tina's left shoulder and turned her head to face Tina before asking, "You ok, Tina?"
Tina turned to her left and looked into Felina's eyes. She tried to form words, but her body and mind were still frozen with shock. She took a few deep breaths, and then asked, "What the heck was that?!" as she pointed to the now smoldering bin.
"That is what happens when you get her mad enough, Tina," Felina replied as calmly as she could. Now that the cat was out of the bag, she figured that it would be best to tell Tina Callie's story. Felina gave Callie a questioning look to make sure that Callie had no objections to bringing Tina in on the family secret.
Callie had been only half listening as she sat in the water, breathing heavily. Her little magical outburst had drained her more than she thought. Then she realized Felina had asked her a very important question, one only she could answer. She looked at Felina and said, "Go ahead. She is going to find out one day, anyhow, since she is our friend now. Might as well get it over with."
Felina turned back to Tina and said, "I am glad that you are sitting Tina. You are going to find this very hard to believe." She took a quick breath before continuing, "Callie's grandmother, Callista, is an immortal sorceress. She is about 500 years old. Callie inherited the family gift, but she is a novice at using her powers and still has a huge amount to learn."
"Hey! Lay off the 'still has a huge amount to learn' business, Felina. I still remember watching your first time at the gun range as you ceremoniously shot your instructor in the butt!" Callie rebutted.
Felina quickly turned her head to face Callie and shot her an evil glare. She figured that she would get even with her later. Felina turned back to Tina and said, "Even though they are both sorceresses, they are still very loving and kind cats. Callie wouldn't be my best friend if she wasn't. Heck, even my uptight uncle is going to be dating Callista, and by the tone of his voice when he talks about her, he is in love with her. I personally could not think of a better aunt to have in my life, or having a better godmother to my kitten than Callie. Sure, all of this magical mumbo jumbo was very hard to deal with at first. But once you see the cat behind the magic, you realize that their abilities are just a part of them. You need to keep this to yourself, Tina. If anyone found out what they can do, they would hurt her and her family."
Tina turned away from Felina and looked down at her lap. There was way too much information for her to handle at the moment. As she sat silently, she thought, "Callista and Callie are sorceresses? How is that even possible? Magic is something out of kittens' and teenage girls' romance books. It is fantasy and does not exist. Yet, Callie just shot a blast from her paws. If that does not prove magic exists, what would?" She raised her head and focused on Callie, taking in the way Callie was winded and looked exhausted. Tina turned toward Felina and saw the look on Felina's face that made it clear that Felina trusted her with her best friend family's secret. Tina turned her focus back to Callie before closing her eyes and saying, "You can trust me, Felina. I will not tell a soul about Callie and her family." She shifted her gaze back to Callie and said, "Callie, you have to tell me one day how your grandmother looks so young!"
Callie looked up at Tina and replied, "My grandmother ages at 1/20th the rate of a normal cat. She might be 500 years old, but she looks 35 and at times, she acts like a 16 year old."
When Felina heard Callie say that Callista acted like a teenager sometimes, she broke down and started to laugh. Callista had always been so prim and proper in Felina's presence, that Felina had no idea Callista had a much more playful side.
Tina developed this confused look on her face as she heard and saw Felina laughing. She cocked her head to one side as she had before and asked, "What is so funny, Felina?"
"Not much, Tina. It is just the thought of Callista, who is so prim and proper all the time, acting like a high school kitten. I wonder what she was like when she really was a teenager?" Felina replied.
Callie now looked at her best friend and replied, "I assume no worse than you and I when we were teenagers, Felina. Although, since it was somewhere around the 1600s, I am sure that things were a lot different than they are now."
Tina thought for a minute, then remembered some of the stories she had once read in some books of folklore from the renaissance period. The books always described the she-cats as being dressed in long, flowing gowns, and the toms in tunics and hose. Mostly, she remembered that there were creatures such as unicorns and dragons present in those times. She replied, "I can almost picture her riding a dragon or something around the town square, or out in the country against her parents' wishes."
Callie and Felina could just imagine Callista in a long flowing gown, riding sidesaddle on a fire-breathing dragon that she had happened to come across and befriend in the forest, determined to bring it home as a pet, and then pouting at her parents when they told her that she could not keep it.
Callie said, after the image of Callista as a kitten played in her mind, "I doubt she had much time for fun and playing games. From what she has told me, she became a queen at a very young age. I can't even imagine what type of responsibility would have been placed on her shoulders."
Tina quickly turned to Callie and asked, "If she was or is a queen, wouldn't that make you a duchess or a princess?"
"I really don't know, Tina. Society doesn't recognize those terms anymore, so it really doesn't matter. But I guess since she is my grandmother, I would be considered a princess." Callie replied.
Tina's mouth dropped open. She turned to Felina and asked, "Did you know that she is a princess?"
"I figured that she was some sort of royalty, but like Callie said, society does not recognize those terms anymore," Felina replied.
Tina turned her attention back to Callie and envisioned her in a long, flowing gown with a crown on top of her head, and how beautiful she would be. She said, "It is a shame that society doesn't recognize those terms anymore. Both you and Callista would do a better job at running this city than Manx does. I can't even remember the last time I actually heard of him doing any work. He pawns it all off on you, Callie. You should be the mayor, not him."
"I agree, Tina. Callie would make an excellent mayor. She is very hardworking, and cares for this city more than she will admit, but she is going to have to wait for her turn. She has more important things to worry about in a few short months, like being a mother to her and Chance's kittens," Felina said.
Tina got up, walked over to Callie, and sat down on her right. After looking into Callie's green eyes, she said, "You are going to be a great mother, Callie. Don't ask me how I know; it's just a feeling that I have."
"Thank you, Tina. I am glad that you are now part of my extended family, which seems to grow more and more every day. Ever since my parents were killed, I have felt alone in this world. If it wasn't for my best friend and rock, Felina, who has always kept me going, I might not have had the courage to go out with my now fiancé, and soon to be father of our kittens. As I said before, my family is growing. I have my grandmother back in my life, I have my best friend and her fiancé by my side, and now, I have you and Katerina to lean on when times get tough. I don't know where my life is going, but as long as I have my family with me, everything will be fine," Callie said.
Tina choked up as Callie said that she was part of her family. She wrapped her arms around Callie and said, "Ever since others found out that I was different, they distanced themselves from me. I was always alone, and never really had friends to turn to when times were tough. My parents have always supported everything I did or have wanted to do, but I have not told them yet that I am gay. They still think that I am going to come home one day with a tom on my arm and say, "Mom, Dad, I am engaged." Won't they be surprised when I come home with Katerina instead of a tom? Anyhow, I am so happy that you consider me part of your family, Callie. I can't think of a better family to be part of."
Felina turned her attention to Tina and said, "You had better tell your parents soon, Tina. The way I see it, you and Katerina are going to make a great couple. I would hate to see you or her going through any heartache because you didn't tell your parents that you prefer she-cats over toms. I am sure that if they love you, they will not care, just as long as you are happy."
"I certainly hope so, Felina. My mother told me about the rash of crap that my father went through when he brought my mother home for the first time. Both of his parents are ocelots, and my mother is a lynx, so when they all met for the first time, they all started arguing about how he should be dating another ocelot to keep the bloodline pure. My father was so in love with my mother that he took her by the arm and led her out of the house. They are not exactly on speaking terms, and I have not seen my grandparents on my father's side for years," Tina said.
"That is the reason why they will accept Katerina as a potential mate. Your father obviously didn't care that your mother was different, and neither did your mother. They only saw the cat they loved and wanted to be with the rest of their lives."
As they were talking, the hostess opened the door and said, "Ferdinand and Antonio are just about ready for their next clients. Who wants to go next?"
Tina said to Callie and Felina, "Why don't you two go? I have never been fond of having anyone give me a massage. Besides, I want to spend time with Katerina and get to know her better, as well as Callista."
Callie and Felina looked at each other, then back at Tina. Callie replied, "Alright, we will go and have those two hunky toms place their paws all over our backs. Have fun with Katerina, just not too much fun." She giggled as she and Felina got out of the pool and started to dry off.
Tina replied, "You don't have to worry about me, ladies. Worry about yourselves, considering how much you're likely to be moaning and groaning as those 'Hunky Toms' place their strong paws on your backs and start working the kinks out of your muscles." She emphasized the words 'Hunky Toms' by making quotation marks with her paws.
Both Felina and Callie started laughing at Tina's reply. Then Felina thought, 'She can give it as well as take it. Tina is going to get along well with us.'
End of Chapter