The Marjipoor was cold and aloof on the final day of his visit. The final touches had been made to the trade agreement to both parties satisfaction. The tiger kept his comments strictly business in nature. There was no mistaking his relief when all the leave taking rituals had been observed and he could quickly escape this confusing city.
Callie was glad to see the last of him. Mayor Manx was totally oblivious to The Marjipoor's stiff mannerisms, a complete departure to his formerly charming self on his arrival. Just as well, he was way too happy about the new trade agreement to care about anything else.
Commander Feral had returned to duty with no one being the wiser that anything untoward had happened.
Time passed...
"Crud, what does he want with me now?" Feral grumbled as he made his way to city hall. He was irritable, tired, and feeling out of sorts. It didn't help that he was now very obviously pregnant. There was no way to hide it anymore and he'd garnered many a strange or shocked look from his enforcers every time he had to leave his office. He'd become a virtual hermit...retreating from the front lines both from feeling self conscious and due to an enforcer regulation requiring all pregnant officers be removed from combat duty.
Felina had been shocked and concerned but he'd assured her that this time he was not alone. He was bonded and happy. She was considerably relieved and congratulated him. Steele had been shocked as well and couldn't stop sending him horrified glances whenever their paths crossed. The Sergeant had been as upset as Felina but was equally relieved and happy for him when he was brought up to date. None of them, however, knew who the father was and he wanted to keep it that way.
His life just couldn't be more chaotic right now as he entered the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. As the door snapped open he met Ms. Briggs coming down the hall.
"I'm sorry, Commander. He's adamant to see you but I'm not sure why." She said apologetcally.
"I know you tried. It's just so hard to get around right now. I don't fit behind the driver's seat of my car anymore so Felina had to bring me and I'm tired of all the strange looks I get wherever I go." He groused in annoyance.
Her eyebrows raised at the uncharacteristic spate of complaints from the Commander. Pregnancy did not agree with him she thought. She realized she'd better tread carefully. Pregnant kats, even male ones, could explode like a bomb over the least little thing. Sighing to herself she walked beside the unhappy Commander to the Mayor's office.
Manx was studying some papers on his desk when Feral and Briggs walked in. He glanced up then back down at his desk but immediately looked up again with his mouth agape.
"Wwwhat happened to you Feral! You're fat!" Manx fairly exploded in shock.
Affronted, Feral scowled at the Mayor and snarled, "I'm not fat! I'm pregnant!"
If his eyes could have bugged even bigger they would have. Mayor Manx couldn't even speak for several seconds.
"Pregnant!" He shouted finally. He launched himself from behind his desk like a cannon ball. "No! This can't be happening not now!" Manx said in an almost hysterical fashion. Feral and Briggs stared at him in confusion.
"Why? What's going on now!" Feral asked warily.
"Our fair citaa has been asked to put on the Tenth Annual Military Leader's Conference. It's a great honor and will be the first time Megakat Citaa has been given the honor and here you are pregnant!" He said as if it was a great sin on Feral's part.
"What has my being pregnant have to do with the conference?" Feral said. Not really happy that this was coming up now.
"It's..it's...undignified that's what!" Mayor Manx sputtered.
Feral gave a snort of disgust. "Just when is this conference supposed to be held?"
Glaring at Feral, Manx went to his desk and searched for the paper on the event. "It's to be held in two months time." He snapped.
Feral blinked a moment. "Oh, well I'm due in about four weeks. Sounds like I'll be presentable by then." He shrugged unconcerned. The birth was of more importance to him than the conference.
"Well that's a relief!" Manx said calming down a little then paused and stared at Feral tautly, "That is if the...uh...kitten isn't late arriving?"
"Relax! I've been told it's more likely to be early." Feral said.
"Well let's hope so. Here's a copy of the information on the conference. I expect you to have all the details to pull this off successfully done before you...uh...give birth." Manx said firmly.
Feral gave a grunt of annoyance at that directive but took the proffered papers and left the Mayor's office. He would have Felina take the lion share of the job. He wasn't working full days anymore. The pregnancy was taxing his strength and leaving him exhausted by midday. T-Bone had put his foot down as well as Medi that he must get more rest and take it easy. So by one p.m. he was going home to take a much needed nap.
The SWAT Kats had finally completed their new base and were in the process of moving the last of their equipment from their old base. Razor was proceeding to seal all the exits except the one from the garage and the Turbokat's exit.
On a bright, sunny, Sunday, they were planning to search for a city residence. They were going to buy not rent. Jake already knew what kind of place he wanted.
"The ocean! That's where I want to find a small house. Besides having a great view, it's closer for Turbokat pick ups." He said glancing over at Chance as they both ate their breakfast.
"Yeah, but it's a bit far away from the night life and other things I like to do!" Chance protested.
"True, but Feral's place is and that's where you are most nights now." Jake said reasonably. "Besides, shouldn't you two be looking for a bigger home for a family now? And it needs to be secluded for your secret to be kept and the kitten's safety?" Jake asked in concern.
"Crud! I haven't thought about that as yet because Uly is still uncertain if he wants to keep the kitten. But you're right, if he does keep it, we'll definitely need a secure home." Chance said in dismay.
There was a long pause as each became lost in their own thoughts.
Jake finally broke the silence, "You know Chance, maybe we shouldn't be looking for a place to share." He said hesitantly. His partner looked at him in surprise. "You're mated now so your needs are different from mine. Our private lives have already diverged a lot over the past year. Makes sense we look for separate housing." Jake said earnestly.
Chance sighed and nodded his head, "Yeah, I guess you're right. With us no longer needing to work together in the garage to make money makes sense we should be thinking about our private lives being completely separate from our SWAT Kat lives." He said solemnly.
"Exactly! But we must set up some kind of schedule where we insure we stay fit and still function as a team. The only difference is we each have a hopefully more peaceful private life to fall back on when we need it. That's something that's been missing for the past few years. I don't know about you but the stress has been getting to me." Jake admitted staring at his partner seriously.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize how bad it was getting for you. Since I hooked up with Uly, I've been able to be more content and less stressed. I forgot you don't have such an outlet. But, hey, now you'll be able to design to your hearts content and maybe find a mate for yourself." Chance said with an encouraging smile.
Jake smiled back and said, "Yeah, you're right there. So I guess we are looking for different homes. I suggest you look around Hackle's neck of the woods. His place is fairly remote and it wouldn't be hard for me to help you make your new home very secure for your secret's sake."
"Sounds like a good idea, Jake. Guess we split up then for the day. See you later this evening for pizza?" Chance asked as he got up from the table and put his dishes in the sink.
"Sure. Happy hunting, buddy." Jake smiled as he put his dishes away as well and made for his computer to search for likely prospects.
"Heh! You too!" Chance grinned as he made his way down to the hangar. He was going to take the cyclotron and cruise Hackle's area to see what he could find.
Jake was luckier and found a nice two bedroom bungalow on a small hillside with an excellent view of the ocean. There was a small forest behind the house with a cleared field just behind that. It was the perfect landing spot for the Turbokat when needed. He made sure to buy the land behind him as well as the home he wanted. He was thrilled when he signed the papers only a week after finding his perfect place.
He dragged Chance out to see it the day after he signed the papers and got the keys.
"What do you think?" He said excitedly. His eyes bright with pleasure.
"It's beautiful Jake, absolutely breathtaking." Chance said looking around.
"All this is mine!" Jake said proudly. Still getting used to the fact that he actually owned his own place at last.
"You've a right to feel proud, buddy. It was a lucky find and I'm glad you're soo happy. Now if I could just find what I'm looking for." Chance told his friend with a sigh.
"Don't give up, Chance. I know you'll find it when you need it. That seems the way of the universe." Jake said punching his friends arm to shake him from his doldrums.
So far Chance's searches hadn't come up with anything yet and he was a bit discouraged. But Jake was right, the perfect place will probably show up just as he needed it and not a moment sooner.