In less than ten minutes, the SWAT Kats were hovering over the terrible scene. The wrecked tractor trailer was still blocking three lanes of road and as many as twenty cars were smashed or disabled nearby. Smoke from several of the cars was what caused the plume they had seen. It didn't take them long to spot Feral's black hummer some five vehicles from the main incident.
"Land on that building, T-Bone." Razor ordered tensely, indicating a roof just above Feral's location.
"Roger!"
As soon as the jet put down smoothly, the canopy was shot back and the two jumped out quickly. They made for the edge of the roof then rappeled down to the chaotic scene on the street.
Enforcers were already on the scene as well as emergency crews but the SWAT Kats managed to slip by the cordon being set up and raced toward Feral's car. No one had reached it yet so they were first on scene.
The driver's side window was shattered and T-Bone could easily see the Commander. They could also hear poor Elora screaming in the back seat.
"Feral, are you alright?" T-Bone asked quickly as he studied the door to see if he could open it.
Feral blinked in surprise at the sight of the SWAT Kat but managed to nod his head. T-Bone got the door open but saw it wasn't going to be easy extracting the Commander. Grimacing, he straightened up and looked around. This was something the fire department was more skilled at doing. No way did he want to accidentally harm the tom by trying to get him out himself.
Elora's crying eased then stopped. Feral tried to turn to see why she'd gone silent, fear beginning to show on his face.
"Easy, its alright, Razor has her." T-Bone soothed him, making him relax. "I'll be right back." He told him as he spotted a fire crew. He jogged over to them. "Hey! Commander Feral is pinned in his car by the steering wheel. He seems okay otherwise."
A firekat eyed him from his position near another car where he was checking the driver. "If he's not in danger, he will have to wait. We have some critical cases here." The Kat told him.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" T-Bone offered, understanding the firekats had to use a triage method to determine who needed help the most so wasn't put off when he was told Feral would have wait.
"Don't know yet. Just stand by. You might come in handy getting that tractor rig out of the way." The firekat said distractedly.
"Sure. We'll be over at Feral's hummer...that vehicle over there..." T-Bone pointed out. "Just holler when you need us."
The firekat nodded. T-Bone trotted back to Feral's side. "Sorry Commander, there are more seriously injured Kats that need help more than you at the moment but maybe I can get you out myself." He reassured the tom then jerked on the door until he could get it open then studied Feral's predicament.
Razor came over to his side hugging Elora close to his chest. He studied the problem too.
"Hmm, T-Bone, you're going to have to use your torch very carefully and cut the steering wheel away but check his feet first to insure they aren't trapped as well." He decided.
"Right." T-Bone agreed as he squatted down to check the floor area. Using a flashlight he could see Feral's left foot alright but had to put his head in to see the right and grimaced at what he saw. The Commander's foot had been jammed by the accelerator peddle back against the seat. He gently felt along it and got a cry of pain from above.
He pulled out quickly and looked at Feral's pained expression. "Can you move your feet at all?" He asked anxiously.
Moaning, Feral gritted his teeth and tried to move both his feet. "Argh! My right foot hurts but my left seems okay."
"Yeah, your left foot is free but your right is trapped between the peddle and seat. I'm going to have to cut the peddle too, Razor. Hopefully, one of those paramedics will be over here by then to take care of Feral's ankle. But first I'll get the steering wheel out of the way." T-Bone said grimly.
Razor nodded and watched as T-Bone carefully used his handheld torch to cut through the steering wheel. Feral was able to hold onto it so it wouldn't fall into his lap when the SWAT Kat finished cutting it free. T-Bone took hold of it and tossed it to the street behind him.
"Hold still, Commander. I need to cut the peddle free." T-Bone called up. He carefully made sure his welder was on its narrowest beam before bringing it back into the car to start cutting.
As he was working a voice spoke to them. "What's happening here?" T-Bone let Razor answer as he continued to work to free Feral's foot.
"Feral was trapped by the steering wheel and the accelerator peddle. As you can see T-Bone has already taken out the steering wheel and is now cutting the peddle. His ankle might be broken." Razor briefed the paramedic standing nearby and looking Feral over without getting in T-Bone's way.
"Good work. Saved us some time. It's a real mess out here." The paramedic grunted. "Commander, how are you sir?"
"Okay, except for my ankle." Feral grunted then hissed as T-Bone finally freed his foot.
"Do you have any other pain...how's your chest...any pain there?" The paramedic asked as he gently pressed various parts of Feral's body.
"No, air bag kept me from getting too badly hurt. Just bruised." Feral told him. "I don't know about my daughter though." He said in concern.
The paramedic quickly looked in the back seat before Razor caught his attention.
"She's right here. She seems okay, only frightened." He told him.
The paramedic gently examined the kitten and found she seemed to be okay. "She should still be checked." He said.
"Sure, we'll get her to the hospital." Razor promised. The paramedic nodded then waited until the bigger SWAT Kat finished his work.
T-Bone pulled out from the small area at Feral's feet to allow the paramedic to inspect the tom's ankle.
"Yeah, its broken." The paramedic confirmed after a few minutes examination as he pulled out and stood up. He called on his radio for assistance then began to paw through his medical case. Another paramedic arrived and T-Bone and Razor stepped back out of their way.
It took over thirty minutes to package Feral and haul him to the hospital. He was grateful that he didn't have to worry about Elora. She was in good paws with the SWAT Kats which was a very strange thing to realize.
It was a small problem for the pair to take care of the tiny kitten and help the fire department move the trailer but they managed. Elora was safely in her car seat strapped into the jump seat next to Razor. After the rig had been hauled to an empty field where they'd been instructed to put it, they were released.
Fortunately, Elora didn't get too frightened of flying in the jet, especially since Razor would spare a paw to gently comfort her every now and then.
T-Bone quickly flew them to the hospital. Elora would soon be hungry and since Feral was nursing her, they had to take her to his side soon. They had also promised she would be examined by the doctors as well.
They had made sure to collect her kitten bag so when they appeared in the ER, Razor made a strange sight as he carried it over one shoulder while T-Bone followed with a kitten carrier over his arm as they walked into the ER waiting room.
They stepped up to the nurse at the triage desk. The nurse looked up and stared at the pair in surprised concern. "Are you two alright?"
"Yeah, we're fine. We're here because of this little cutey. Her mother was in an accident and we are just taking care of her until we can reunite them. Elora was in the accident as well and the paramedics said she should be checked out. She's been okay though." T-Bone assured the nurse.
"Even so, she should be checked out since she was involved in an accident. Come with me." The nurse said urgently then led the pair through to an examination room. Their wait wasn't long before an intern appeared. He blinked in surprise at the sight of the pair with a kitten carrier.
"Hi doc. This is Elora Feral. Her mother, Commander Feral were in that big accident with the tractor trailer. Feral was brought in with a broken ankle and the paramedics said Elora should be checked out too. We can tell you she's been okay, cried when she was frightened in the jet and comforted easily." Razor told the doctor.
"Really. Okay, let's just check her out okay. Do you know how old she is?" The doctor asked as he gently removed Elora from her carrier and placed her on the exam table. She stirred and waved her arms around a little.
"She's six weeks old." T-Bone said promptly.
The doctor wondered how he knew that but shelved the mystery as he carefully pulled Elora's clothes off and began to exam her. The cool air of the ER woke her and she began to cry lustily.
"Ahh, I'm sorry little one. Well at least her lungs are okay." He said mildly as he used a small flashlight to check her eyes, whenever she opened them. After checking her all over, he seemed satisfied that she'd taken no harm from the accident.
"Well, she certainly looks and sounds okay to me. She was restrained, right?" He asked as he put the diaper back on.
"Oh yeah, and there was no damage to it, luckily. It's a good thing Feral drives a hummer. It buckled but still held together well." T-Bone answered.
"That's good. Well, I think there's nothing to cause any concern then. Is she nursing or bottle feeding?" The doctor asked as he washed his paws.
"Nursing and now that she's wide awake, she'll be yelling to be fed and we don't know Feral's status." Razor said in concern, folding his ears at the loud wails.
"I can check on that for you. Go out to the waiting area and I'll have someone one tell you his status." The doctor said as he left the room.
"Swell. He gets her all riled up and we're left with trying to calm her down." T-Bone grumbled as he quickly redressed Elora.
"You got that right." Razor said sourly.
T-Bone raised Elora into his arms and began to rock and coo to her trying to calm her down, even offering his finger to suck. She took if for a few minutes while Razor searched her bag for a pacifier. He gave a cry of triumph when he finally located it and gently coaxed her to accept it. She almost didn't but finally was sucking on it hard. It wasn't going to hold her long though, they both knew that.
The two went out to the waiting area and found a quiet corner. Many eyes watched them in fascination. Not many got to see the SWAT Kats up close and personal like this.
More than an hour later and both SWAT Kats were nearly frantic as they each took the very angry and hungry kitten in turn, trying unsuccessfully to comfort her but she was having none of it as she wailed demandingly.
Everyone around them including the triage nurse winced in sympathy at the stressed out kitten cried. The nurse had been told about who the kitten was and had been checking regularly to see if Feral could have visitors but some kind of hangup in x-rays had forced the Commander to wait before getting done.
Finally, when everyone in the waiting room had their ears flat in self defense against the appalling noise, the nurse was able to tell the two they could go back. She quickly escorted them through a set of doors then down a hall, Elora's wails echoing off the walls.
The nurse paused at a closed door and hurriedly opened it. Feral was looking toward the door anxiously having heard the distinctive cry of his kitten. With a feeling of great relief, Razor handed over Elora into her mother's waiting arms.
Her face was red with anger and her tiny fists beat the air in fury. Feral raised her to his face and cooed at her then licked her face vigorously which he had learned was a quicker way to distract her from her pique.
The kitten choked and whimpered but finally stopped screaming long enough for Feral to hurriedly open his hospital gown then bra to let her begin nursing. He hissed as she latched on and sucked hard. His breasts were becoming really uncomfortable the longer he had to wait to nurse her.
Everyone sighed with relief as silence reigned at last. The SWAT Kats relaxed against the nearby wall as they watched the kitten nurse.
"Elora was examined and the doc says she's okay. No signs of injury from the accident. So when do they say you can leave, Feral?" T-Bone asked.
Feral grimaced. "I don't know yet. I only just got back and haven't seen the doctor again and my ankle hasn't been casted. I don't think they'll keep me though. Thanks for caring for her and having her seen."
"Hey, no problem. You know we love her too. However, now you have another problem." Razor said heavily.
Feral knew what he meant as he looked down at his splinted foot. How was he supposed to take care of Elora now?
It was more than two hours later before Feral was finally released. Following the wheelchair the nurse was pushing, they took the elevator to the roof landing pad where the Turbokat was parked to one side. When they reached the jet, Razor took Elora's carrier from Feral and T-Bone helped the tom, who was using crutches, up the ramp and into a jump seat he'd pulled down. He cinched the Commander in then did the same with Elora's carrier beside him on another jump seat.
Once they were secured, the two climbed the ladder to the cockpit and started the jet. Elora didn't like that much and Feral had to keep his paw on her to keep her calm the whole trip.
Landing on the roof of Feral's apartment gently, the pair climbed back into the hold. Razor signaled the door to open as T-Bone helped Feral to his feet, waiting for him to get steady on his crutches before letting go of the tom's body. Razor had already gotten Elora and they made their slow way down the ramp then down to Feral's apartment.
By the time they had gotten into the apartment, Feral was exhausted and wobbly on his feet. Pride kept him from asking for help as he determinedly made his way to his bedroom. By that time he was sweating and his ankle throbbed painfully.
He groaned as he tried to catch his breath. Setting Elora's carrier on the changing table, Razor went to get pillows while T-Bone quickly stripped Feral of his clothes ignoring his objections. Once the tired tom was situated in the bed properly, T-Bone gently raised the injured limb while Razor put pillows under it to elevate it per doctor's orders. Taking a loose blanket, T-Bone covered most of Feral's body while leaving his ankle exposed.
Razor took care of Elora's needs, changing her and putting her to bed, while T-Bone went to the kitchen to make a late lunch for Feral and to make up an ice pack for his ankle. Some ten minutes later, he arrived in the bedroom with a tray and a bag of ice.
He set the tray before Feral then put the bag on his ankle. The tom hissed then sighed as he felt some of the throbbing ease.
"There are two pain pills for you on the tray. You need to take them now or you won't get any rest." T-Bone told him.
Feral grimaced. "I really don't like taking these. They'll make Elora sleepy too." He objected.
"They could if you took them then nursed her thirty minutes later but you just fed her and she sleeps about three and half hours. By that time the pills wear off. You nurse her then take more pills. Easy." Razor reassured him.
Feral sighed grumpily but took the pills.
"Okay, one of us will have to remain here during the day now." Razor sighed. "We have time to go home and take care of things then one of us will be back before you wake up."
"But you already are here at night!" Feral said as he ate his meal.
"I know, but no way will you be mobile for several days so its just going to be longer shifts for us for a little while." T-Bone said with a shrug.
"How will you protect the city if you're taking care of me day and night?" Feral pointed out.
"You just let us worry about that and keep your fingers crossed the omegas continue to stay absent right now." Razor said firmly. "Now we're off. Get some rest."
Feral sighed but said nothing more as T-Bone took his tray. Truth be told he was totally wiped and that just made him angrier. Not only was he tired due to being a new mother but now he was injured as well.
'Could it possibly get any worse?' He thought miserably as he heard the pair leave then allowed sleep to steal over him.
As the SWAT Kats climbed aboard their jet and prepared to leave, T-Bone voiced his own concern.
"You know he's right, buddy."
"Yeah, but what choice do we have?" Razor asked rhetorically.
T-Bone could only sigh in agreement as he took them home.