At the end of a perfectly awful day, Callie threw her purse and briefcase on her coffee table and retreated to her bedroom for a hot shower to relax her. Twenty minutes later she padded out into the living area dressed in a comfortable lingerie pantsuit. Grabbing her briefcase and purse as she passed, she headed for the kitchen.
Laying her things on the breakfast bar, she quickly whipped up something light to eat then sat down with it to work on some reports while she ate. By the time she'd nearly finished her dinner and was halfway through the reports, her doorbell rang.
Smiling to herself, she hurried to the door. As she expected, her lover Jake was standing there with a pawful of red peonies which he handed over to her while stealing a kiss.
"Aw, that's so sweet of you, Jake," she said warmly, closing the door behind the cinnamon tom and heading back to the kitchen.
Jake trailed after her and noted, as soon as he stepped through the doorway, that he had interrupted Callie. "Sorry for interrupting your work."
"Oh, not a problem. I always work during dinner," she said shaking her head, going to a cupboard and digging out a vase for the flowers. Putting water in the vase, she cut the flower stems then put them in the vase and set it on her kitchen window sill, giving him a pleased smile at how well they looked there. He smile warmly back as he watched her return to the table to sweep her work up, shove it into her briefcase then carry her dishes to the sink before turning back to him.
"You want something to drink before we go in the living room?"
"Nah, I'm good."
Smiling, she reached into the fridge and got herself some iced tea then the two of them walked back into the other room, sitting down on the couch and cozying up to each other.
"So how was your day?" Jake asked, caressing her arm as she lay against his chest.
"Horrible!" She sighed in irritation as she told him about the two speeches she had to write, a financial report she had to do, a boring meeting that she had to attend because the Mayor had gone golfing, and the final straw being his honor leaving early and forgetting to tell her of the special report on a possible garbage strike she needed to handle quickly and diplomatically before finally being able to leave for the day.
Jake grimaced in sympathy. "Too bad you can't get rid of that worthless fool. Our day was much better than yours, for once. It was busy but quiet. We got done in the garage early so I was able to work on a couple of things I needed to fix on the Turbokat."
"You were luckier, alright," Callie snorted. "I do have something else to discuss with you."
"Oh, what about?"
"I spoke to my friend, the therapist, and she has agreed to see all of us. Because I've had her investigated and used her as my own therapist, I know she is completely trustworthy so she now know who you two really are. It was the only way she could treat you."
Jake's eyebrows raised at finding out someone else knew who they were but relaxed at Callie's assurance that the person was completely trustworthy. "I bet that blew her mind."
Callie grinned in amusement. "That it did. She almost didn't accept when she realized I wasn't kidding about the danger in getting involved with us but she's made of sterner stuff and said it would be a learning adventure for her."
"Huh! Hope she doesn't see too much adventure helping us. I wouldn't like to see her come to harm," Jake said in concern.
"So do I. To try and protect both her and us, she thought using an out of the way conference room at Megakat Trauma Center would be good. I agreed and she's checking on it's availability."
Jake shook his head. "No, that's a poor idea. I'm sorry Callie, but even though we all do use the center when needed, a frequent use of it would cause suspicion especially for you. If the press got hold of you going there a lot more than seems usual, you'll hounded by them trying to determine if you have a hidden illness or something."
Callie's face fell. "Oh dear, I hadn't thought of that. The same would be true of Feral as well. He just doesn't have that many reasons to go there even if his troopers do end up there rather frequently but only after an attack by an omega. It would be hard to explain his going there when things are quiet," she said unhappily. "So where can we meet that won't cause suspicion?"
"Why not here for us and Feral's apartment for them?" Jake said reasonably.
Callie blinked in shocked surprise.
Jake shrugged, "Well, you did say you trust her so her coming to us is a much better idea. Since it would be after hours for her, no one would think it unusual at all for her to visit her 'friends'. A perfect solution...suspicion averted."
Callie shook her head. Sometimes she forgot because of his shyness, just how brilliant this tom was. "You always surprise me! You can see problems from all different angles and provide a solution. You'd make a fantastic problem solver at city hall."
Jake grimaced, "No thanks! Too political for me."
"I didn't seriously mean for you to do it," Callie laughed, giving him a kiss. "Let me give Laren a quick call so that she doesn't waste anymore time trying to make those arrangements."
Jake reluctantly released her and watched as she went back to the kitchen to use her cell phone.
Callie speed dialed her friend. She was lucky, Laren answered after the third ring. "Hi Laren, it's me, Callie. Listen about the arrangements you were making...a friend of mine has made me realize they won't work. A new suggestion of coming to see me at my apartment was made and I have to say is much sounder. How about you stop and see me to make the arrangements...say tomorrow at seven?"
Though caught by surprise, Laren was also relieved by Callie's call. "Actually, Callie, I was going to tell you my original plans fell through so your idea sounds like a better one. Tomorrow at seven will work for me too, so I will see you then."
"Perfect. See you tomorrow evening. Bye!" Callie said in pleased response then hung up. She walked back to the living room with a smile on her face.
"Well, fate seems to be working in your favor as well. It seems Laren's attempt at getting a conference room fell through so she was grateful I had found another option. I'll be seeing her tomorrow night," Callie told him as he retook her position leaning against his chest.
"Fantastic! So, now that's solved, how about we do something else?" He asked, his voice dropping low as he began to nuzzle her neck.
"Sounds like an excellent idea," she murmured huskily.
Next morning, Jake strolled into the garage whistling as he prepared to get to work. T-Bone was just arriving from his home, driving his cyclotron into the hangar then changing his clothes. In a good mood himself, he climbed up the ladder to greet his friend.
"Well, appears you had as good an evening as I did," He said, amused.
Jake turned to grin at his friend. "Yeah, I did. I also have news for you."
"Oh, what about?" Chance asked as he checked the work requests.
"Callie's therapist friend has agreed to treat us."
Chance grimaced then sighed. "Well, that's good, I guess."
His friend snorted, "Gee, not very thrilled are we?"
"I don't like head doctors, you know that but I did agree to see one. So when do we start?" Chance said, less than enthusiastic about the prospect.
"No date yet. Callie meets with her friend tonight. Anyway, we are having our sessions at home. The therapist was going to try to get a space at the trauma center but I nixed that since it would be too suspicious for Feral and Callie to be going there on a frequent basis. So I suggested Callie and I have our session in her apartment and you and Feral would have yours in his apartment. Much safer option." Jake said.
"For you maybe but a pain in the tail for us. Jake, we live in a house outside the city in secret, you know that." Chance groused.
"Yes, I do know, but I also know Feral kept his apartment for convenience sake for those times when he has to stay in the city. It's really the only option buddy," his partner said firmly.
Chance just grumbled unhappily under his breath but said nothing more on the subject as he got to work.
A week later, Jake and Callie had their first session. Laren was already waiting with Callie when Jake arrived.
"Jake, this is Laren Jarstone." Callie introduced them.
"Please to meet you," Jake said politely, shaking the she-kat's paw.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Shall we get comfortable?" Laren suggested.
Jake went to the couch and sat with Callie while Laren sat in a comfortable wing chair.
"Alright, let's begin." Laren said.
She asked a few questions about how they felt about each other and where they thought their relationship was going. Because she already had Callie as a patient, she focused her attention on getting to know a bit more about Jake.
She could hear some residual anger and self recriminations toward himself when he talked about being ousted from the enforcers then his pride in his inventing skills and designing the Turbokat as well as the mission he and Chance had set for themselves. She had no doubt the original idea had come from Jake.
He struck her as possessing a dual personality of a sorts. On one paw...he was a shy tom with a rapier mind and a heart of gold then there was his darker flip side which was his Razor persona. A person with nerves of steel, great courage, and a thread of coldness in his soul that allowed him to handle the harshness of his chosen career path.
Normally, such a person would have many emotional problems with having such diverse personalities warring against each other, but in Jake she saw they worked together in harmony making him a very unusual individual. She supposed this was what made a person a hero.
Now that she had a better picture of who Jake was, she broached the subject that was causing them both the most grief.
"So, let's discuss the reason you sought my help in the first place. You go first Jake," she said.
She listened carefully as first Jake then Callie explained how they felt about the other's safety issues. Jake was rather forceful when he voiced his opinion on Callie's tendency to jump into danger and wishing she would take more care to which she hotly retorted, 'I will if you will' argument in response.
The argument between the couple quickly began to spiral out of control so Laren had to firmly intervene. "Easy you two. That's an unproductive anger loop you're getting stuck in. So let's take the issues apart and address them individually."
"The first problem, as I see it, is one of the male instinct to protect. There's nothing wrong with that emotion normally, but in this instance, it's a hindrance and making both of you unhappy by its presence. Most of the problem with you, Jake, is you're trying to force Callie into a submission position," Laren explained, once the two had quieted.
"Some females don't mind being submissive to their lovers. Many actually want to be protected but they are not in a position of power as Callie is. She cannot be seen as weak and helpless and that's what you are requiring her to do just to stay safe in your eyes.
"It's really no different than your own overwhelming need to protect this city with your life. It scares her to see you throwing yourself into danger often. You both are strong personalities and have a great deal of courage. You both chose to do what you do for the people of this city. Because of this, you must accept and trust the judgement of your lover that they know what they are doing," Laren explained.
"Callie! Jake has trained well and has a keen analytical mind. His skills and those of his partner are what keeps them alive to fight again. You have to trust those abilities because you are not going to stop him from doing what his heart and soul demands he do," Laren said firmly then turned to the tom.
"Jake! You and I both know Callie is the real force behind the Mayor's office that keeps this city running. She must remain at her post to do her job. Running away is just not an option. I propose that Callie take advanced self defense training, preferably taught by you and give her some of your more discreet weapons that she can learn to use to defend herself with. This would relieve your need to protect her so closely and some of your worry," she strongly suggested.
"Now, here's some homework for you two until our next session. I want you to implement what I've suggested then I want you to practice learning to trust each other. This will be the most difficult thing you will ever have to learn for you two to be happy. Once Callie is trained to your satisfaction, Jake, you must learn to let go and trust that she can take care of herself. That does not mean you can't worry about her but it does mean you can't allow it to dominate your thoughts when you are focused on your duty," Laren said firmly.
"Alright, that's enough for this session. It was longer than normal due to me having to learn a bit about Jake but next time it will only be an hour long. I think our next session should be in another month. What day would work for you both?" She asked taking out her pocket planner.
Callie went to get her own planner while Jake thought over what he had going on that might cause a conflict. A few minutes later, appointment marked, they said good night to their therapist.
After Callie shut the door, Jake let out a sigh and laid his head on the couch so he could stare at the ceiling. Callie came and sat down beside him but didn't disturb his thoughts as she went over the last few hours herself.
"Wow! That was intense!" Jake finally said, sitting up to look at his lover. "What do you think about taking self defense lessons from me?"
Callie blinked and thought about it. "Sounds like a good idea to me if it will help you feel more secure about me being able to take care of myself in most situations. I do like the idea of having a few of your more sneaky protective toys in my possession. I could see how they would get me out of a sticky situation more quickly."
Jake was nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I could kick myself for not thinking of that before."
"Too close to the problem, perhaps?"
Her lover blushed but had to agree she was probably right.
"I hope Chance's and Feral's session goes alright," Callie commented as she laid back into Jake's embrace.
Jake could only shake his head. "I don't think it will be as quiet a session as ours. Remember, those two have hot tempers."
"Poor Laren, her ears are going to be ringing after their session," Callie said in sad amusement.
"Be lucky if she can hear at all when they're done yelling at each other." Jake snorted. "Want some personal attention or should I leave?" He asked, changing the subject.
She thought hard about that. She had gotten used to sleeping next to him and really enjoyed it but...it had been an emotional evening and she felt the need for some alone time to digest it all. "I think I need some me time. You okay with that?" She asked softly.
"Of course. I wouldn't have asked in the first place," he said gently, giving her a kiss then getting up to leave. "Want me here tomorrow or would you like to begin training?"
Callie looked up at him and saw he was serious not joking with her. "Let me see how the day goes and I'll let you know. Thank you for being willing to do this for both our sakes."
"Don't thank me yet. I intend to put you through as grueling a training as Chance and I go through. You may very well hate me when I'm through with you," he said with a smirk. "Just let me know when you want to start. Good night, love," he said warmly, blowing her a kiss before letting himself out.
She shook her head, 'oh joy, he's going to make sure I will be sore for weeks after but at least he is willing to do it. I just hope I don't regret it.'