Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
This chapter was easy to write, and a bear to edit. Towards the end, new mother and daughter both share how nervous they are with becoming family in such a short time.
Enjoy.
David was not enjoying being Confined to his Residence at all. He looked out of the window facing the Courtyard and saw several couples, dressed quite nicely, holding each other's paws, several young kittens playing happily, and in the center of it all was Callista, Michael, Helen, and their new twins. He scowled at the sight, knowing his tight grip on the Society was slipping. He turned around to face the door, and yelled, "Guard!"
One well dressed one male guard opened the door, and said, "Yes?"
"Why aren't my guards following my instructions, keeping a tight order on the compound?" David asked.
"The Queen has made some changes, while you are incarcerated. She wants to return the Society back to what is once was, and not the gloomy Hell Hole, you have turned it into. To be honest, I prefer the changes she has made and so do many others," The guard answered.
"She can't do that!" David yelled.
"There is a reason many still consider her a queen. In a few short weeks, she with the help of the Higgins family, she brought some light back into this once dark place. Enrollment has increased, families are now congregating on the grounds, and cats are starting to feel safe coming here," The guard said.
David scowled, picked up a stapler from the desk, and yelled, "Get out!" Right before he threw it at the guard.
The guard closed the door before the stapler connected with the door then the stapler fell to the floor.
David returned to the window overlooking the courtyard to see Michael and Helen each picking up one if their twins. "This moment of bliss is just that. A fleeting moment in time. Once I am free, anyone who opposes me will not be breathing for too much longer."
Once Mrs. Warrens was stabilized in her own room. Her eyes fluttered open and asked, "What hit me?"
Roy was instantly at her side, holding her right paw in his, and answered, "You passed out after Dr. Fang said I might become paralyzed during the procedure, mom."
Mrs. Warrens grasped Roy's paw as she faced him, then asked, "Where is Dr. Fang now?"
"He had to head back to Claw-Tek to check on the progress of my new prosthetic arm. Are you all right? Your Blood pressure shot through the roof." Roy asked.
"I've felt better, Roy," she answered, then asked, "Are you positive you want to go through with the surgery?"
Roy patted his mother's paw, and answered, "Dr. Fang and I talked while you were being cared for. He explained the risks of the surgery, but he also told me what I will be gaining with the new arm. I'll be able to move, feel and pick up the smallest item with it. Well, once I complete the recovery process. Mom, I want this. I want to feel normal again. I want to feel the soft fur of Iris' cheek with my paw, and I don't want my kittens to be frightened of their father's arm."
"If you are ok, then I'll agree to the surgery," she said.
Roy intentionally left out the part where Dr. Fang told him his fingers and paws will maintain the same temperature as his body. So, when he touched Iris with his new prosthetic, she wouldn't feel cold. He looked forward to the day when he could try out that feature.
Dr. Fang did return to Claw-Tek. But instead of heading to his office to finish the paperwork, he headed towards the Fabrication Floor, where the machining of the limb took place. He entered the Control Room and found Mr. Ferrari looking out the large window at one of the Computer Controlled Milling Machines. Dr. Fang approached Mr. Ferrari, and asked, "How goes the fabrication?"
"Very well, doctor," Mr. Ferrari answered. "This is the last of the Internal parts for the forearm that needed to be made. All of the Outer Skin metal and Carbon Fiber has been completed and in the Polishing Process."
"Splendid. How is the process on Miss Murphy's prosthesis?" Dr. Fang asked.
"Its been completed and is right over there," Mr. Ferrari answered and pointed with his right index finger to a table with Iris' new leg sitting in a support cradle.
Dr. Fang went over to the table to inspect the new leg. Before him was what appeared to be a Malleable Brushed Aluminum outer skin metal, covering the motors and servos located in the thigh section of the leg, the knee section surrounded with a dark grey flexible material he had never seen the likes of, where the calf muscle should be located was more of the Brushed Aluminum which concealed more servos and motors for the ankle and foot sections. He was impressed that the fabricators were able to make the entire prosthesis have the exact form and shape of a she-cat's limb. He ran the fingers of his left paw down the thigh section and felt a prickling sensation. He turned to Mr. Ferrari and asked, "You were able to synthesize fur?"
"Not me, doctor. The credit for the addition goes to Mr. Clawson and Mr. Pinnenfarina. They wanted the new prosthesis to be as life like as possible," Mr. Ferrari stated.
"Do my daughters know about the fur?" Dr. Fang asked.
"Oh, they most certainly do. Yi almost quit when she found out each follicle had its own transducer in it and she would have to account for the fur in her code," Mr. Ferrari answered.
"I had better check on them. Knowing my daughters, they are either working together nicely or getting ready to tear each other's throats out," Dr. Fang said.
He left the Fabrication Floor and headed towards the Software Engineering wing of the building. He entered the Software Engineering floor and heard several loud bangs, followed by Li yelling, "Where did the idea of synthetic fur, with transducers come from!? Does this cat know how much extra work they created for us!?"
Dr. Fang ran towards the source of Li's voice to hopefully quell his daughter. He burst into the Software Lab in time to see Li getting ready to throw a large binder full of specifications out of an open window. "Li! What in cat's name are you doing?" He asked.
Li lowered the binder back to the table, and answered, "Both limbs now have synthetic fur, which we now have to code into the software! Does the Hardware Engineering Team even think what the Software developers have to go though to make this stuff function!? I don't believe there is enough memory or processing power in the CPU to handle the new code and hardware! The fur is going to cause a massive delay of the prosthetics heading to Compliance Testing for certification! There is no way we are going to meet the timeline required, father!"
Dr. Fang placed his paws on his daughter's shoulders, and said, "You two will get the software done, within the timeline outlined! One of the patients needs the new prosthetic now, not in weeks! If the synthetic fur is the gate, then cut the sensitivity down by half. We can update the software at a future date. However, all other functions must be fully operable, no exceptions!"
"But father," Li pleaded.
"You two will have the software ready! No exceptions! Is this understood!?" Dr. Fang yelled.
"Yes father," both sisters replied.
Dr. Fang sighed, then much more calmly said, "I'm sorry daughters. Those two patients are relying on us, now more than ever. Do you're best, which I'm sure you two will."
The two sisters went to work. Their fingers glided over their keyboards, churning out lines of code, faster than they thought possible, which made their father smile. He then left to finish the paperwork he was supposed to finish before he left to see Roy.
Felina arrived back at Enforcer Headquarters. She parked her car in its designated parking spot, then looked up through the windshield at the looming building. She sighed, and asked herself, "Did I do the right thing, bringing Iris into my home? Becoming her mother? Am I ready to be the mother of a teenaged girl? I was a wild one when I was a teen, will I be able to dissuade Iris from making the same mistakes I did?" Not being able to answer most of the questions, she got out of the car and proceeded to head back to her uncle's office.
She knocked on the heavy wooded door, then entered. She saw her uncle and Lisa, reviewing the paperwork she was supposed to be working on in conjunction with her uncle. But instead of approaching, she stood there, pondering her own thoughts and what occurred in the last few hours.
Lisa turned her head to the right to see Felina, deep in thought. She rose from her seat and went over to her. "Hey, this is not the she-cat I'd follow anywhere, knowing she had my back. What's wrong, friend?" Lisa asked.
Felina hugged her, wrapping her arms around Lisa's neck, and answered, "I think I screwed up, big time."
"How so?" Lisa asked.
Felina pulled her arms back and started pacing her uncle's office. "Jake and I discussed bringing Iris into our home, if she was thrown out by her mother, which she was. I don't regret that decision at all. Iris would be a great sister to me and aunt to Alex."
"There's much more, isn't there, Felina?" Lisa asked.
Felina continued her pacing, and answered, "There is. Iris met my parents before I could get there. They are letting her call them Grandma and Grandpa. When I saw her, I just blurted out, if they are letting you call them, grandma and grandpa, I guess that makes me your new mother. She called me mom, then cried into my shoulder." She stopped pacing, faced Lisa, and asked, "I was not the best daughter out there. My mother can tell you several stories of my kittenhood that would make you question my sanity. Now, I have this girl who is going to think of me as her mother. Am I ready to be the mother of a teenaged girl, who happens to be engaged to marry? I fear of letting Iris make the same mistakes I did. Then what? She becomes a teen mother herself? I can see the Headlines now. Felina Clawson lets her adopted daughter get knocked up before her High School Graduation. I'm scared I'm going to fuck this up, Lisa! I love her already as a mother should! I don't want her to go down the same paths I did!"
Ulysses rose from his seat as Felina ranted. He went over to her, placed both of his large paws on her shoulders, and said, "You are not going to fuck this up! You need to let her make her own mistakes, and be there to support her, when she needs it! Don't be like your mother was with you! Be her friend and when she needs it, be her mother and guide her gently. Iris will love you for it." He looked at the paperwork still waiting to be completed, then back to his niece, and asked, "Want us to head back to the hospital with you? I want to meet my new grandniece."
Felina answered her uncle by embracing him tightly and crying into his large chest.
Ulysses held her, letting her show a side of her she rarely shows anyone. "Felina, you will be an awesome mother to Iris, just as you are to Alex. Your family and friends will be there to support you, every step of the way. Although, I don't think you will need it."
Felina stopped crying after a few minutes, then said, "Thanks uncle. Sometimes I wish you were my father. Then maybe my life would be so much different. You would have supported my decision to be an Enforcer, instead of telling me I'll be nothing but a housewife with kittens all around."
"I could never imagine you doing that. I'll remind my brother and sister-in-law of what they lost out on when I see them," Ulysses said. "Let's get you back to Iris and hopefully, Beatrice hasn't talked her into giving her Great Grand-kittens yet."
Despite Lisa wanting to meet Iris, she had to stay behind to finish the paperwork Ulysses and Felina were supposed to be reviewing. The two of them entered the Common room Iris was in to find Zeus and Beatrice had left with Katerina and Tina taking their places. Each one had smiles on their faces and still laughing. "Where did my parents go?" Felina asked.
Katerina faced her with a large smile on her face, and answered, "They left to head back to your home to make sure Iris had everything she was going to need."
"And what has two of my Sergeants and my daughter smiling?" Felina asked.
"Grandpa was telling us about the time you were given a new semi-automatic rifle to test out and how you shattered every window facing the range, mom," Iris answered.
Felina felt a pit in her stomach after Iris addressed her as mom. She entered the room and sat on the right edge of Iris' bed. She took Iris' paw in hers, and said, "Iris. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm nervous about being your mother. My parents have told you about some of my excursions when I was younger. I'm worried I'm going to lead you down the same paths I took."
"Mom," Iris said. "I understand how you feel, sort of. I spent most of my life being the daughter my ex-mother wanted me to be. I always wanted to play soccer or do something athletic. But she wouldn't hear of it. She wanted to have the perfect debutante daughter, date and marry the perfect guy, and give her perfect kittens. After my surgery to replace my left calf, I started to discover who I really am. I love being with the younger kittens, simply reading and playing with them. That's when Roy and I started talking for the first time. He was playing with a few boys when the ball they were using got away from them. He came over to apologize. But once he saw me, he picked up the ball and threw it back to the group. He stayed with me for the rest of the day. We were paired up by Dr. Earnheardt the next day for PT. Now, he and I are going to be married. I would have never dared talking to him, if I became the she-cat my ex-mother wanted me to be. You think you're scared of not being a good parent to me? I'm scared of not being the daughter you and Jake wanted."
Felina put her arms around Iris, resting her head on her right shoulder, and said, "I guess we will both figure out how to be a family together."
Iris hugged her back, and said, "We will, mom."
Tina took Katerina's left paw in hers, leaned over to her, and said, "Iris is in good paws with Felina as her mother. Don't you agree, Kat?"
"I do. Hope she is ready to be part of a very close knit family, who are going to be constantly around," Katerina answered.
"I'm sure she will be," Tina said. "Can't wait for her to meet Mark, Lisa, Raphael, and Katherine. She's going to fall in love with those kittens, instantly."
Iris lifted her head to Tina, and asked, "You mean Lieutenant Samuelson, Tina?"
"That's him. You have met him before?" Tina asked.
"Yes. He and Officer Storms were the ones who questioned us in the park. Officer Storms looked good in his uniform, but Lieutenant Samuelson looked purely sinful. His tight shirt showing everyone of those muscles and the way his pants molded around his godly butt! If I was still single, I'd be wanting to get my paws on that."
Felina lifted her head from Iris' shoulder and peered into Iris' eyes. "You checked out Mark's backside?"
"Of course I did!" Iris answered. "What she-cat wouldn't look and want to get a feel of those cheeks? Roy's ass is nice and firm, but Mark's looks like marble." Her eyes slitted, then she said, "I still blame the pain medications for my loose mouth." And smiled.
Felina threw her head back and laughed, quite hard. She then faced Iris, and said, "You're not the only member of this family who commented on Mark's ass, Iris. Most of us have fantasies about grabbing Mark's backside, more than once. So, don't worry about saying anything related to me or any of the other she-cats in our family. Well, except for Lisa. She's kind of possessive about her husband."
"Felina will be fine," Katerina said. "Iris is just like she is. Their bond will be quite strong."
"It sure it will be," Tina agreed. She looked over to Ulysses and noticed how uncomfortable he appeared. She said, "I think we should take the Commander for a cup of coffee or something, before Felina or Iris say something that will make Ulysses lose his hair."
They both latched their arms through Ulysses' arms, then Katerina said, "Let's give mother and daughter some time to bond, Commander. I hear the Coffee is quite good." The two of them left with Ulysses in tow, leaving Felina alone with Iris.
Iris was the first to see them leave. She said, "Mom, I know we are both nervous. However, ever since I've known you, you have made feel like family. Like you, I've thought of you as the sister I never had but wanted. Instead, I get to have you as an adoptive mother. I may make some of the same mistakes you have made. But I know, you won't scream, yell, and throw me out of my home again. You will listen, guide, and support me. Most of all, I know you will let me be myself and not some mini version of you."
"I would never do that. Although, I wouldn't mind if my new daughter got some of my spunk and attitude towards life," Felina said and smiled at Iris.
Iris smiled back, then said, "Not too much, mom. I don't want to scare Roy off before he puts a ring on my finger."
Felina kissed Iris on her forehead, then said, "I don't believe you could do anything to scare him away. Well, maybe if the first time you decide to sleep with him, you show him who is boss in the bedroom." She shuddered, then asked, "Should I really be saying stuff like that to you? Some mother I'm going to be."
Iris kissed her back, then said, "No, you probably shouldn't. But you are going to be the mother, I've wanted. Something tells me, I'm going to love being your daughter, mom."
Felina let a single tear fall from her left eye, and said, "I'm going to love being your mother, Iris Clawson."
End of Chapter