While Uly got some well deserved sleep, T-Bone went downstairs to the hangar and called Ms. Briggs.
"T-Bone is something wrong?" Callie asked quickly. She'd just gotten in to the office when her communicator sounded off.
"No problem. Just good news. Uly gave birth to a healthy female at seven a.m. this morning. He's resting comfortably now. He wanted me to call and let you know and to ask that you notify Felina so that she can put him on the sick list for two weeks." T-Bone said happily.
"Oh, T-Bone that's wonderful news. Tell Ulysses congratulations from me and to you too, of course. Yes, I'll let Felina know as soon as I hang up with you. Mayor Manx shouldn't be too upset since Feral will be up and around in time for the conference. Thank you for letting me know." She said warmly.
"You're welcome and thanks Ms. Briggs." T-Bone said and clicked off.
A new dawn rose and a, beginning to be familiar, cry woke a very tired pair. Yawning T-Bone struggled out of bed and picked up his daughter, laid her on the bed and changed her diaper then carried her to her mother to be fed.
He stretched and groaned as he went to the bathroom to pee then returned to climb back into bed beside his tired mate. Feral had barely woke up when T-Bone had handed him their daughter and placed her on his breast. He couldn't believe how tired he was. He felt like a zombie.
Little Zira finished her breakfast and went to sleep. Feral yawned and rolled over carefully and placed her in the bassinet beside the bed and rolled back to spoon T-Bone falling quickly asleep once more.
It was full morning when Razor rose. The kitten's cries had kept him from getting any real sleep over the last twelve hours. He decided he would go to his home tonight to get some real sleep. He didn't envy T-Bone a bit. He went seeking his breakfast. He was reading the news on his laptop when his partner dragged his butt into the kitchen. He barely acknowledged Razor's good morning.
"God! I'm soo tired! I didn't want to get up but Uly is hungry so here I am." He yawned hugely and tried to see what he was doing.
Taking pity on his friend, Razor shoved T-Bone to a chair. "Here let me put together a meal meant for a nursing mother. Medi made sure to post it here in the kitchen for you. Make sure you take it with you when you take him to your new home." Razor said as he began putting together a meal for both kats. "By the way, when do you plan on taking Feral to the new house?" He asked as he scrambled some eggs.
T-Bone's nose twitched at the scent of food and realized he was hungry too. He was glad his partner was fixing him a meal as well. "Ahh...don't know...when we can stay awake more than five minutes...maybe!" He said only half joking.
"That's probably a good idea. I think you need to stay here so Medi can make sure you guys get regular meals and continue to monitor Zira and Feral as he recovers. Plenty of time to take them home. Besides, Feral can't appreciate it much if he is too tired to see it." Razor smirked as he put the food on a tray.
"Okay, let's get this up to the mother so you both can eat and get some more sleep." He coaxed T-Bone to his feet and led the way to the elevator to their bedrooms.
It was three weeks before Feral saw the surprise T-Bone had waiting for him. He was still a bit sleep deprived when T-Bone took him to the mountains on their double cyclotron. Little Zira was strapped in a special carrier on his chest as he sat behind T-Bone. It was a fairly long drive. When they pulled off the paved road and slowly traversed a dirt track into some woods, he thought his mate had lost his mind.
T-Bone reached a huge log in the road and turned to the left and followed a gravel path, that looked new, to a fairly modern structure hidden in the trees. A sliding door rolled up as they approached. Feral could see other vehicles including his hummer parked in the structure which he realized was a cleverly disguised garage.
His mate helped him off the bike and they walked back out the door which silently closed behind them and led him down a different gravel path toward another hidden building. The tabby went up to a very solid looking door and instead of using a key he placed his thumb to what looked like a knot hole in the wood frame. There was a quiet snick and the door popped open.
"Later, I want to input your thumb print into the scanner." T-Bone said as he ushered his mate and kitten into a large living space. It was sparsely furnished, a recliner near the huge fireplace an old desk and floor lamp were all that was there.
"This is just some of my stuff. As you can see there is lots of room for your stuff and furniture we get together." T-Bone told him.
Feral stood in the middle of the room and stared at his mate. "What do you mean my stuff? T-Bone what is going on?" He asked in exasperation.
"This is our new home, my love. Razor reminded me that you and I would need a place of our own that's secluded and safe for our kitten and ourselves to be together without anyone seeing us. Razor has his own place near the ocean. We realized that our private lives had separated completely when I became mated to you so having our own places made sense. Come on let me show you around." He coaxed Uly as he led the way to the kitchen/dining room.
Still stunned by T-Bone's revelation, Feral followed mutely. He was pleased with the kitchen. T-Bone and Razor had installed the latest in kitchen appliances and he hadn't stinted on the beautiful wood dining room table and chairs. There was even a wooden high chair sitting in a corner.
T-Bone led him back through the living room and into another hallway. The first bedroom was empty but clean. The second bedroom was a wonderfully decorated nursery with all the things one would need to care for a newborn. There was a crib, changing table, toy box, and rocking chair. He couldn't resist kissing his mate after seeing it. T-Bone blushed with pleasure. He'd been worried if Uly would like it or not...obviously he did.
He showed off the smaller bathroom that he'd decorated in a forest green color scheme and had made ingenious use of mirrors from the roof to give the room natural lighting since it didn't have a window then Uly was being tugged to a staircase at the end of the hall and led up to a breathtaking loft. In the center of the room was a huge sleigh bed of warm wood and intricate carvings. It had a thick mattress and was made up with new sheets that smelled fresh and thick velvety blankets and coverlet that had a leaping deer on it. Beside it was a beautiful swinging bassinet for late night feedings. Out the window could be seen the bay. In the corner was a door that led into a huge bathroom. It was fantastic. There was a set of walk in closets as well.
Before he could say anything, their daughter began to wail. Laughing, T-Bone went downstairs and got the diaper bag. He was back before Uly had even got her diaper off. Uly changed her and laid down on the marvelously comfortable bed to feed her. T-Bone came and laid beside him.
"Well, love what do you think? There is still the outside to show you but what do you think of it so far?" He asked.
"It's wonderful, beautiful and I'm overwhelmed. I never even thought about leaving my apartment. I guess I never let myself think past the pregnancy. I'm glad you did. So tell me more about this place." Feral said smiling warmly at his mate.
Smiling back happily, T-Bone went on to tell Uly about the super security/monitoring system Razor installed that included an infrared scanning system that would warn them of intruders. The equipment was in a little alcove in the first downstairs bedroom that would serve as Uly's office space. He explained that they had excavated a hidden tunnel system under the house that went to the garage and landing field for quick escapes. He told him of the copter landing field with its camoflaged security screen that prevented anyone from seeing it from the air, the boat dock with small boat hangar where a super powered boat was kept, and the large work space in the garage for him to work on projects of his own. Razor had also installed a powerful backup generator in the garage to provide power if the electricity should ever cut out on their property.
Finally, T-Bone told Uly about the nanny bot that Professor Hackle had developed. He had made a prototype just for them to take care of Zira when they were away. Razor had also set up a signal with Professor Hackle's lab to alert the Professor if something ever happened to the robot. He would send Cybertron I to take care of it.
"That's a smart and very protective little robot that helped us during the mummy affair with Pastmaster." T-Bone finished. "So what do you think, Uly?"
"I think you've thought of nearly everything except one, my love." Uly said gently.
T-Bone looked surprised. "Well it was Razor who thought of most of these things but what is it we forgot?"
"Who are you?" Uly said quietly studying his face closely.
T-Bone blinked in shock. "But why do you want to know? I thought you didn't want to find out because it could cause trouble?" He said confused and worried.
"That was before all this and her," Uly said looking down at their daughter sleeping between them then looked back up at his mate. "I've never seen your eyes, your face...will our daughter be denied as well? We are a family now and this secret could actually cause problems rather than prevent them." He said quietly.
T-Bone sank back and stared at his mate. He lay there for a while, trying to decide if his identity really needed to be kept secret any longer. They had paid their debt, they had a new base, and his mate loved him...his mate love him. That was the deciding factor finally. Slowly he reached up and untied his mask and let it drop from his face.
Feral sat there feeling only a little surprised. Some part of him must have known but he had paid it no heed. He reached out and gently caressed the face he loved and found no anger at the sight of Chance Furlong. He smiled warmly, "Hello, my love so nice to see your handsome face and beautiful eyes at last!" He murmured and leaned carefully over Zira to kiss him.
Chance blinked in pleased surprise at Uly's easy acceptance and leaned in to meet the kiss. His heart leaped for joy. Now his life was complete.
They pulled back and studied each other with new eyes.
Uly was the first to break the comfortable silence. "So maybe now you could tell me how you came up with all that money to pay off yours and Clawson's debt. I had just heard from Felina the other day about it." He asked arching an eyebrow at him.
Chuckling, Chance explained how Jake had planned their future and how he'd earned the money to take care of everything, their new homes, the pay off, his new job, and their new base.
Feral's eyes raised at that last bit of news. Chance laughed softly at his mate's expression. "Yes, new base, our old base used to be hidden under the garage all these years but now it's not and that I'm not telling you for your sake and ours." He said more seriously.
Feral nodded, "That I can understand and agree. I will say your new base is really a masterpiece what little I've been allowed to see. Jake's influence I believe?" Feral asked.
"Yeah, he's really something. By the way, I start my new job on Monday. I can hardly wait." He said excitedly.
"Sounds like fun. Just try not to break too many bones love." Uly said warmly.
"Would have to be a real piece of shit bike design for me to wreck it." Chance scoffed.
"Still be careful." Uly warned.
"I will if only not to hear you say 'I told you so'." Chance agreed smiling. "Now would you like to see the rest of our new home?" He asked getting up from the bed.
"I would! Maybe we should put her down in her new crib?" Uly said as he gathered up their daughter.
"Sure! Come on!" Chance said happily as he led the way back downstairs and to little Zira's room.
Feral walked in and laid her down then covered her with the light blanket from the end of the crib. Chance put down the diaper bag on the changing table.
Smiling at each other they left their daughter to rest as they held paws and walked through the house to the kitchen and back outside. Chance stopped a moment to replace his mask and then took his mate's paw again and showed him around the grounds. He proudly showed off the newly mowed and fenced yard where Zira would eventually play then took him through another gate at the back of the yard. They went through a small hidden pathway to the mini landing field for Uly's copter and the Turbokat.
They returned a short while later, checked on Zira, then went back to the kitchen where T-Bone removed his mask again and prepared to make them lunch. He was stopped by a powerful arm that wrapped around his waist and pulled him chest to chest with Uly.
"I am so glad a SWAT Kat took compassion on an angry and hurt Chief Enforcer and taught him how to find love and be happy for the first time in his life. Thank you, Chance. I love you very much." He said with heartfelt emotion then kissed his mate hard and deep.
Chance's heart swelled with joy and he melted into the kiss of his loving mate and was very glad he had taken a chance that long ago day.
end