Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
This is another dark chapter. Don't worry; things will start to lighten up soon.
Thank you my Co-Author MisaRae.
Plug Time: MisaRae is almost ready to publish Two-Plus-Two. Please go and read it! She loves to get comments and will respond in fold. That is how I found her and I am so happy that I did.
Once the Enforcer officers had completed their tasks, the coroners took over and started bagging the body of the dead tom. They quickly finished their work so they could get out of there. Ambrosia might be a five star restaurant however; its location left much to be desired.
Ulysses had his left arm draped over Callista's shoulders, pulling her close to him so she could feel the warmth of his body.
She was still in deep contemplation as to why Amelia had been sent to the land of the living. Something about this whole scenario didn't sit right with her. Between Dark Kat being a member of The Society, the dinner she had just been invited to and escaped from, the fact that she had been shot at and one of her newest friends took the bullet for her, and now a tom that would rather commit suicide than answer Empress' questions, she had a feeling things were much more dire than she had been led to believe. The day's past events weighed on her, very heavily.
Ulysses couldn't help but feel the tension in Callista's frame, and noted her serious expression. It seemed to him as if the weight of the entire world were on her shoulders, rather than just his arm. He had never felt so helpless, and it scared the dickens out of him. He had been in love with Callista for years, and he was supposed to protect her, yet tonight, he had failed in that simple duty. More than that, he wanted her to always be happy. Seeing her so distraught only made him feel worse. He was at a total loss. He asked, "Callista, what can I do to ease your burden? Here I am, your fiancé, and I feel absolutely useless given all that has happened tonight? Seeing you as you are now, is making me doubt that I am worthy of your affections. You deserve to have a tom by your side that can keep a smile on that gorgeous face of yours…"
She instantly turned, faced him, and looked into his eyes, deadpan. She was pissed that Ulysses didn't think he was worthy of her. She replied with venom in her voice, "How can you say that, Ulysses? Being your wife is going to make me the happiest she-cat in the city. You are more than worthy of my love, and if you ever start doubting yourself again, I will not hesitate to turn you into something. I don't know what that will be yet, but you will not enjoy it." She grabbed Ulysses' lapels and dragged him closer so that their bodies nearly collided, her grip on him so tight, her knuckles ached, "I love you, Ulysses. I want you by my side forever. I am going to love being your wife!" She then buried her face in his chest and started to cry.
Ulysses stroked her hair with his left paw and placed his right paw on her mid-back. He said, "Please stop crying Callista. I love you too much to see you cry. I promise never to doubt myself again. Would you like for me to take you home? Persival must be worried sick by now."
Callista lifted her head from his chest, her tears having stained the soft fur on her cheeks, and she replied, "Yes, please take me home. I want to forget this night ever happened."
Ulysses lowered his face to hers and captured her lips with his in a quick but soft kiss. He pulled back and wiped her tears away with his right paw. He said, "That is much better. Let's get you home."
He once again draped his left arm around her shoulders as he walked towards his niece and Jake, who were still dealing with a pair of Enforcers.
Caliber said to one of the Enforcer officers, "If we are done here, the two of us need to go meet up with the rest of our team back at the hangar, then go to the hospital and check on our friend who was shot."
"You can go when I say you can go. A tom is going to the morgue, and we want to know why. All the evidence points to your friend killing him, and until the autopsy proves otherwise, she is our prime suspect. So sit your ass down and answer my questions," the Enforcer ordered.
Caliber clenched her fists and was getting ready to lay the Enforcer out, when Ulysses put his right paw on her shoulder. She turned to see who had put their paws on her before she let her fists fly, and saw her uncle with a slight scowl on his face directed at her. She relaxed her fists and sat down.
Ulysses turned to the officer and asked, "Haven't they been here long enough? It's been three hours since you got here; surely there can't be any more questions for them."
"Sir, with all due respect, this is the scene of a potential murder. We don't have all the answers we need to complete the investigation, and these vigilantes have them. I don't care how bitchy this she-cat gets; she and her partner are not leaving until all my questions are answered," the officer rebutted.
Ulysses grabbed the officer by his lapels, lifted him so his face was even with his, and said, "Now you listen to me! These two have just seen their friend and partner get shot. Now, either you are going to turn them loose so they can see their friend, or I am going to teach you a lesson in compassion. Do you understand?"
No one on the force ever questioned the Commander just for this reason. Whenever he saw one of his officers getting out of line, he always acted accordingly to make his displeasure known, and not only to the offending officer, but to all who were around. Several officers had been escorted from headquarters before for arguing with the Commander over how the public should be treated. Ulysses always insisted that the public should feel confident and secure, knowing their concerns would be heard by law enforcement, so if the need ever arose, they would call on the Enforcers for assistance, rather than fearing them. The officer gulped and replied, "Understood, sir. They are free to go."
Ulysses lowered him to the ground and let go. He then returned to Callista's side, placing his arm around her shoulders again before and said, "I want to see you and your partner in my office Monday morning. We are going to have a friendly little chat about how the citizens of this city are to be treated." He walked away with Callista after he finished giving his order.
The officer was still breathing heavily. He turned back to Caliber and Razor and said, "You two can go."
Caliber got up and walked over to him. She said, "The Commander might have been too easy on you, but if I ever see you not treating a citizen with respect and compassion again, you will answer to me." She then turned around, lifted Razor to his feet, and walked back to the TurboKat 2.
The officer returned to his partner and said, "That was real scary. I never want to be on the Commander's bad side again, and that crazy she-cat? She may have a killer body, but I never want to see her again."
His partner replied, "You got off easy with both of them. Ulysses could have fired you, and Caliber does have a smoking hot body. However, you never had a chance with her anyway. I have a feeling that she is taken."
"Really? Who would be insane enough to date her?" the first officer asked.
"Razor," was the second officer's reply.
"Well I'll be damned. Good luck to him, trying to tame that she-cat."
They returned to their patrol car, got in, and headed back to headquarters to file their report.
Adonis was still sleeping in the staff's break room, as his mind started wandering to a very happy place. He was seeing himself, carrying his seven year old daughter on his right shoulder, and his five year old daughter on his left. Both of his daughters were laughing and screaming for him to go faster as he ran around their yard.
He stopped, put his daughters down, and said, "I think I have had enough running for a while, girls. Why don't the two of you go and get the picnic basket that your mother prepared earlier, and bring it out? I'm going to check on your mother and brother."
His eldest daughter replied, "Sure, Daddy." She turned to her sister and said, "Come on and help me, Cindy. Mom packed enough food to feed an army."
Cindy said, "Ok, Kathy," but before she left with her sister, she wrapped her arms around her father and said, "I love you, Daddy!" Then she ran off to follow her sister.
Mark turned to his left and started walking towards a large blanket that Lisa and their baby son were sitting on. He got down on his knees, and then lay down on his left side, propping his head up with his left paw. Mark asked, "How's my baby boy doing?"
Upon hearing his father's voice, the kitten turned and crawled over to his father, grabbed both of his cheeks with his tiny paws, and pulled with all his might.
Mark could not help but smile and chuckle at his son's actions. He reached out with his right arm, grabbed his son around the waist, and pulled him against his chest before rolling onto his back and lightly tossing his son in the air. The kitten smiled, knowing and loving their current game, then laughed hysterically as his father caught him.
Lisa watched her husband and son play. She smiled as she thought, 'This is how life is supposed to be. I have my husband and my family by my side, I have a successful dance school, and two of my best friends and their daughter live right down the street.' She then looked at their son and realized how excited he was getting. She said, "Mark, if you keep playing with him, we are never going to get him down for a nap."
Mark very reluctantly stopped playing with his son and put him down on the blanket. He said to him, "Mommy's right, Adam. You are getting overly excited, and naptime will be here soon."
Adam scrunched up his face because he didn't want to stop playing, but instead of crying, a huge yawn overcame him. He crawled over to his mother, curled up by her stomach, yawned again, and fell asleep.
Lisa looked down at her sleeping son and said, "I guess he was more tired than he thought."
Mark scooted closer to his wife and said, "I guess he was. Now how is my pregnant wife feeling?"
"I'm fine, for now. The baby hasn't been too active today," Lisa replied.
Mark placed his paw on Lisa's expanding stomach and said, "Who would have thought that I would be a very proud parent of two beautiful girls, a bouncing baby boy, and another one on the way? Not to mention, I have a wife that I love and adore." He then kissed her.
Lisa returned Mark's kiss and deepened it. When their daughters returned with the basket, Kathy said, "Eww, they're kissing again."
Lisa pulled back from her kiss and said, "Kathy, I love your father very much. Kissing is normal for two cats that love each other the way we do."
"But Mom, you are going to get cooties from kissing Dad. You don't want cooties, do you?" Kathy asked.
Lisa and Mark laughed at their daughter's question. If she only knew what else they did behind closed doors. Mark replied, "Kathy, you don't get cooties from kissing someone." He started to get up, and got ready to chase after his daughter. He then said, "You get them from being tickled by someone who has been kissed." He smiled and made a fake attempt at capturing Kathy in his arms so he could tickle her, but as he had expected, she took off running. He started running after her, smiling and laughing.
Adonis lay in the break room bed, smiling the entire time as he dreamed.
Once Pirouette's operation had been completed, Dr. Feldman finished suturing her incision. He looked down at his handy work and said, "That should not leave a scar at all." He turned to one of the surgical nurses and asked, "Can you please bring her to recovery and notify her fiancé? He is waiting in the surgical waiting room, and he is not hard to miss. You should be able to find him without a problem." He removed his gloves and mask, looked down at his patient one last time, and stroked her cheek. He said, "You remind me of my granddaughter. She is just as beautiful as you are, Pirouette. I'll be there as soon as you wake." He then left the OR.
The surgical nurse nodded to one of her co-workers, and they both transferred Pirouette to a gurney and placed a blanket over her. One of the nurses transferred the IV bag to the pole mounted to the gurney and unlocked the wheels. She pushed Pirouette out of the OR and over to the recovery room. Once Pirouette was situated and her charts had been handed off, the nurse removed her mask and gown, and then went in search of Pirouette's fiancé. She entered the surgical waiting room, and quickly scanned it for a tom that could be her patient's fiancé. Not seeing anyone who might be a candidate, she went over to the desk and asked, "Dr. Feldman asked me to bring his patient's fiancé to recovery. Any idea where he went?"
The nurse that sat behind the desk looked up and replied, "You mean that handsome, hunky tom in the skin-tight costume? He needed sleep, so I set him up in one of the break rooms."
"Thanks, Agnes," the nurse replied, and left for the break rooms.
Agnes yelled, "Serena, keep your paws to yourself!"
Serena waved her off as she turned and walked down a dimly lit hallway. She reached the only break room door that was closed, and figured he was inside. Serena opened the door slowly so as not to jar him awake, and turned on a light in the corner. The light barely lit the room, but it was enough for her to see the tom in front of her. Her mouth dropped open at the sight. Before her was a very well-built tom, naked from the waist up, revealing his upper body for all to see, and he even bothered to cover up his lower half, so she could see the muscles in his long legs very easily, as well as his crotch. Serena had been planning to simply give him a light shake to try to wake him, but instead she walked over to him, sat down on the edge of the bed, and ran her right paw down his muscular form. Starting with his right shoulder, over his expansive chest, she made sure that she felt his nipple as she continued, down his well-toned abs, and finally her paw crossed over the line of his clothing and ended up on his thigh, dangerously close to the bulge in his uniform.
Adonis was still dreaming when he felt the familiar touch of a she-cat's paw on his body. He instantly assumed it was Lisa's paw, given the way it slid so boldly over him. When the paw settled on his thigh, he said, "Lisa, if you keep touching me like that, I will not be able to control myself."
Serena leaned forward so her mouth was very close to his left ear and said, "I don't want you to control yourself. I want you to take me, and my name is not Lisa, it's Serena."
As soon as Adonis heard the name Serena leave her lips, he grabbed the paw that was on his thigh and bolted upright. He then said, "How dare you touch me! I don't even know you, and you have your paws all over me. Get out now before I have you fired!"
Serena shot to her feet and marched toward the door, obviously more angry than upset. She opened the door, then looked over her shoulder to say, "You just lost the chance of having the best tail in the hospital!" before continuing through and slamming it behind her.
Adonis replied, "I don't think so, lady. My fiancee's tail is much better than yours." After finishing his retort, he stood up, dressed, and left the room, heading back to the nurse's stand.
As he walked up to the stand, he heard a couple of the nurses gossiping about how Serena had been turned down by this hunk of a tom in the break room. He leaned over the desk and said, "She is lucky that I am a forgiving tom, otherwise she would be out on her tail. Now, is there any update on my fiancée, Pirouette?"
The nurses who had been gossiping about him all looked at him sheepishly, blushing beneath their fur. One of them said, "Serena was supposed to tell you that she is out of surgery, and most likely in the recovery room. You can go over and see her, if you like?"
Adonis lifted his body from the desk, giving the nurses a real good view of his chest and abs in his uniform and said, "Thank you." He turned his head, trying to figure out the way to recovery, but none of the signs painted on the walls showed him the direction. He turned his head back and asked, "Which one of you nice nurses would like to escort, as you stated 'this hunk of a tom' to the recovery room?"
"Sorry, we can't leave this station, but recovery is down the hall on your right. When you reach the end of the hall, turn right, and you will walk straight into the recovery room," one of the nurses said.
"Thank you, ladies," Adonis said as he turned and started walking in the direction the nurse had given him.
Both nurses craned their necks in order to get a view of his backside and tail as he walked. They were not disappointed in the least by what they saw.
Adonis figured that the nurses were looking at his ass as he walked away. He started moving his tail in time with his hips in order to give them a real good view of what they would never see again. He then heard several bed pans and other objects falling behind him. He smirked and chuckled as he thought, 'I guessed right. Those nurses were staring at my ass.' He continued his actions until he turned the corner and headed towards recovery.
Dr. Feldman finished changing out of his scrubs and into his normal street clothes. He put on a long white coat with a picture of a cartoon kitten embroidered onto the left breast pocket. He wore that particular coat when dealing with younger cats to make him seem a bit more personable. He knew that the hospital could be a cold and dreary place. He also knew that being bright and cheery with his patients made them more at ease. He turned around, and standing right in front of him was Mary. He put his paws over his heart and said, "You could have given me a heart attack! Not that I mind seeing you, but what are you doing up here? I thought you were going to wait in my office."
"And I thought we were going on a romantic picnic today, but instead we ended up here. So tell me, my dear husband, why should I not be a little mad?" Mary asked.
"Mary, I wanted to take you on that picnic, very much. However, being the Chief of Surgery comes with a price. You knew that when I told you I was offered the position ten years ago," Dr. Feldman replied, and took a few breaths before he continued, "Remember when I told you I had T-Bone of the SWAT Kats on my table?"
"Yes I do, dear. What about it?" Mary asked.
"One of his partners was shot today, and Razor personally asked me to take charge of her care. I guess I am now the personal physician of the SWAT Kats. Both T-Bone and Empress trusted me with their real identities, so I guess that trust carries over to the rest of SWAT. Her fiancé is likely at her side right now, watching over her like a hawk, and I promised her that I would be there when she woke up. I don't plan on breaking that promise. Besides, she reminds me an awful lot of Cheryl. Would you like to meet her and her fiancé Adonis?"
"Henry, being the trusted doctor of the SWAT Kats may place you in harm's way. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Mary asked.
Henry took Mary's paws in his and answered, "I was a M. A. S. H. doctor when I was in the service. I have seen way too many young toms die, both on my table and off of it. If there is any way I can save another cat's life, I will do everything in my power to do so. If the SWAT Kats trust me enough to be their doctor after all that they do for both us and the city, then that is what I am going to do to repay them."
"That is what I figured you would say, Henry. You have a heart as big as this hospital and that's one of the many reasons I love you so much. I want to meet these SWAT Kats, if they are going to be a part of our lives," Mary said.
"Not just our lives, Mary, but our daughter's and granddaughter's lives. Empress is pregnant with T-Bone's kittens. I gave her Cheryl and Daniela's cards," Henry replied, and then smiled.
"Was that a wise move, dear?" Mary asked.
"Our daughter is the best OB in the hospital, and Cheryl is a great pediatrician. Empress couldn't be in better paws, and her kittens are going to love Cheryl. You will see. Come on, the anesthesia has to be wearing off by now, and I want to be by Pirouette's side when she wakes up," Henry said.
Henry and Mary left the changing room and headed towards the recovery room.
End of Chapter.