Now that they had cleared the air and accepted one another with rather frightening ease, T-Bone left the hospital after giving his mate a long farewell kiss, nearly floating on air the whole way home. It was still hard to believe he was mated to the gruff and troublesome Chief Enforcer. Fate was truly weird.
"Well you look really happy, buddy. Things go well?" Jake asked his partner when Chance came in whistling as he entered the kitchen the next morning for breakfast.
"Yes they did! Thank you for shaking my tree, buddy. I would have missed the best part of my life and been miserable forever. It was amazing! He accepted we were mates immediately...no bellowing...angry denials...and only a little shock. It seemed he had suspicions just recently but he brushed it off. You're right, the body doesn't lie and that's what convinced us both. What gets me is not realizing the reason I was getting along with Feral so well was our bodies were at ease with each other. Duh!" Chance said cheerily.
Jake smiled at his ecstatically happy friend. Things would be weird getting used to having Feral very intimately involved in their lives but it was worth it to see that look on his friend's face. Now if only he'd be so fortunate. 'Have to go to that club more often,' he mused to himself.
"I'm glad to hear it," he just said, smiling warmly. "So, now with nearly all the omegas dead, we've got time for relationships and working more steadily. What are you and Feral going to do about being a couple?"
"Gee, I don't know yet. We've a lot to discuss when he gets out of the hospital. I have to admit, its great to be able to plan a future and not worry about omegas taking apart the city. It's just as well since, Ulysses, needs to take it easy. He was very lucky the kitten survived what happened to him. Geez Jake, Dark Kat beat the crud out of him and if he'd been able to, he would have taken him along to torture more or simply killed him out of paw before taking off for parts unknown again," Chance noted soberly.
Jake shuddered. Yeah, Dark Kat would have done that alright, he had no doubt. He was very glad they had been able to take that crazed omega out permanently this time.
"I'm glad he's on the mend and the kitten is alright. Well, time for us to get to work and we have a lot of it to catch up on."
"Yeah, but hang on a second more. I have an important question to ask you."
Jake halted his movement to get up and eyed his friend questioningly.
"Though he was only making a joke, I know Ulysses was being serious when he said it was funny that we met with masks on but now that we know each other, one of us still has a mask on, hiding their identity. He understood this wasn't my secret alone so I'm asking you if you have any serious objections to letting him know who we are now, especially since the threat is minimal to the city for the foreseeable future?"
His partner stared at him for a long moment. Was it safe enough and were the conditions right for such a revelation? Well, if they couldn't trust Feral then they were screwed because such a close and intimate relationship that a mating was, secrets couldn't be kept long anyway. Thinking on all the complications it would or could cause, Jake finally came to the conclusion that it was time and right for Feral to know. Any problems could be solved as they occurred. No point in obsessing about them now.
"Yes, I'm okay with that. Things are more settled in the city and, though I have no intention of giving up being a SWAT Kat yet, I don't see us doing too much for a while, so go ahead and tell him," Jake said seriously.
Chance sighed in relief and gave his friend a huge grin. They got up and headed to the garage...time to get to work!
It took another few days before the doctors were comfortable with releasing the Commander. However, he didn't get away without some stern warnings about getting enough rest and the name of a specialist that he would see the next day.
Feeling put upon, but relieved to get out, Feral settled comfortably in the passenger side of an enforcer sedan that had picked him up. He'd had his assistant bring him a uniform to the hospital so he was able to go right to work upon release.
His great coat still managed to cover his pregnancy sufficiently that he continued to hide it rather than reveal his condition. He just didn't want to endure all the stares and gossiping around him. But he knew it wouldn't last long as he couldn't wear his coat around the building so everyone would know soon anyway.
The first day back was always the hardest especially when reports requiring his signature alone, were piled up waiting for him. Sighing, he settled down and began to work steadily through the day.
Sgt Fallon's eyebrows rose but he wisely said not a word when he saw the bulge beneath the Commander's ribs, pushing his shirt and pants out obscenely. It obviously wasn't fat and he was stunned to realize what it did mean. But his superiors unique physiology was his own business and no one elses so he kept his mouth shut and did his job. He did offer up a prayer of thanks, though, that the Commander had survived that omega's clutches and with his unborn kitten intact as well. He wished for only happiness for Feral in the months to come now that they would have some relative peace at last.
Feral knew his doctors would be angry with him for working as late as he did today but it was worth it to not have all that waiting for him day after day until he caught up. But he did pay for it with a stiff back and sore butt from prolonged sitting.
Sighing, he got to his feet, stretched, then went to get his coat. It was dark outside already, long past quitting time and dinner. His belly grumbled at him...definitely time for him to get home. Yawning, he walked to his hummer parked underneath the building and was about to open his car door when a body slipped up behind him.
His heart jumped and he tried to spin around in a panic when a familiar voice soothed him.
"I'm sorry, love. Stupid me! I forgot you're still a bit jumpy from the kidnapping," T-Bone murmured apologetically near the right side of Feral's face.
Feral sighed and relaxed, his heart still pounding hard from the sudden scare. "You're forgiven," he murmured turning to give his mate a kiss. "But you shouldn't be here...its not a good thing for us to be caught...oh shit...the camera..." he started to panic again, looking around for where the security camera was then halting when he saw it was covered by something.
"Hehheh! Now come on...you didn't think I was that careless did you?" T-Bone smirked playfully, gently caressing Feral's back to calm him.
"Okay, that's too many scares in a row and I feel rather faint. Let's get out of here!" Feral huffed, too nervous to relax.
"You're right! I was just concerned you were working too late. Go on home and I'll get us something to eat. Your stomach is growling loudly and our kitten must be kept fed you know." With that T-Bone quickly slipped away, taking the cover off the camera in passing before vanishing into the shadows of the garage easily.
Feral sighed and opened his car door. As he was climbing in, he heard the distinctive sound of a specialized motorcycle starting up then roaring away. There was no traffic as he drove home which allowed him to wind down. He looked forward to being with his lover after soo long apart.
He reached home without incident and met no one on his way to his apartment. Unlocking his door and stepping in, he turned on a nearby lamp and shut the door behind him. He took his time undressing, taking a relaxing shower, then putting on a pair of boxer's and a light robe before heading out to the living room. The odor of food hit his nose immediately. Sitting on the couch was his mate who grinned at him and gestured for him to have a seat beside him.
Smiling warmly he glided toward T-Bone and sat with a sigh and received a tight hug. The tabby released him the next minute and waved a paw over the table.
"I got you a little of everything that I hope you'll like. Here's a plate, dig in!" He urged Feral.
"It all smells delicious. Thank you!" Feral quickly filled a plate and dug in hungrily.
T-Bone did the same and turned on the TV so they could watch the news and perhaps David Litterbin. He should feel odd being here but, no, instead he felt contented and truly happy. His body rested against his mate and all was right with the world.
Feral took two helpings of everything then finally shoved his plate away, finished his milk then rested his head against his mate's arm as he relaxed finally.
"Better?"
"Much!"
Chuckling lightly, T-Bone began a gentle kneading of his mate's neck and shoulders as they watched the antics of Litterbin's cohort on the screen.
Barely watching the show, Feral felt his eyelids grow heavy. He turned his body so that he could lay in his mate's lap and ended up falling asleep to the sound of T-Bone's heart beating.
T-Bone looked down tenderly at his exhausted mate. His paw drifted down and began a gentle caress of the swollen belly. 'My kitten,' he thought in amazed awe. 'It's so incredible that he is able to be pregnant. I'm just floored that he was willing to keep it even though it is a high risk for him. No wonder I love him so...oh...what was that?' He thought in growing excitement, holding his palm still and waiting breathlessly for that faint movement to be repeated. Seconds later, a thump hit his palm...a foot or perhaps an elbow...the first sign of their kitten's presence and his mate was sound asleep. He would tell Ulysses when he woke but right now it was his moment and he enjoyed every second of it.
"Hello, my little one," he murmured aloud. "It's your daddy." The sound of that made him feel giddy. He could hardly wait to hold his kitten in his arms.