Take A Chance on Me: Afterburn
Take A Chance On Me
Chapter 18: Afterburn
The continuous sound of the telemetry machine echoed in the hospital room, counting off the number of times Jake's heart beat as he lay on the hospital mattress breathing innocently away through the oxygen mask. Unknowing to him, Chance's lover was right next to him, yes his lover, through thick and thin they've been together whether in the skies or in the junkyard living day by day paying off their debt to the Enforcers. Chance could see in the room a little better after his eyes adjusted to the dim light, but he knew it was Jake laying right across the room for him. Chance could never forget the luscious chocolate colored fur that his mate had, the way it smelt enticed the burly kat ever so much that sometimes it drove him mad with lust. His first whiff of Jake's scent came from after a mission and the two kats were changing out of their uniforms to head back into the garage. Jake had gotten changed fast and only wore his boxers and wife beater shirt as he climbed the ladder heading back to the garage, that's when the breeze of his scent danced across the room and teased Chance's nose. It confused Chance for a while, wondering where it came from, secretly he didn't want to know but his bodily urges needed the answer, the knowledge of its source was too much of a challenge. When the tabby finally figured out it was Jake's aroma that drove him mad, he knew he was only setting himself up for failure. Jake was taken my Cliff at the moment, and besides, he would never want to go out with Chance. First of all, he didn't know Chance was into other toms as well. It was for the better that Jake didn't know, but how he tortured Chance so much with just the very glance or smile he passed along. Chance looked around the room once again to see his siblings and friends asleep; slowly he lifted his upper-body while holding onto the side railings of the bed. Once again Chance was reminded of his pains from his earlier battle; the stabbing sensations hit him like a ton of bricks just continually falling on him. Hissing through his teeth the tabby managed to fully sit himself up on the bed, taking moments to breath as he began to slide his legs off to the side facing Jake's bed.
"Ok....you can do this" Reminding himself over and over again in his head, knowing he would be in worlds of pain for this stunt, but he had to be with his mate then and there. With a sudden jolt of energy Chance hopped off the bed and landed on the ground with his legs fully supporting his body, as predicted he was paralyzed with pain. It stung, it burned, it hurt like hell, but it was all going to be worth it when Chance would finally reach his goal. Looking down at the ground for a moment, he realized the floor patter of checkered black and white was making him dizzy, closing his eyes he began to breath normally again as he worked up the courage to move one foot in front of the other getting closer to his mate. Every step was like walking through a field of glass, knowing there was going to be pain didn't help Chance's self esteem, but as the bed got closer his hopes rose. Finally, reaching out like a lightning bolt Chance's hand grabbed onto Jake's bed rail quickly, echoing the sound of metal clanking together in the once silent room. Chance looked down at Jake, so helpless and alone to fight with his emotions. Leaning down, feeling the heat emanate off of Jake's body Chance nuzzled his nose softly against Jake's cheek. The lighter tom shifted in his spot some, groaning at the pain he felt from his own body after giving birth and losing a baby to the hands of the late Hard Drive. With a small glimmer coming from the crack of the hallway light Jake opened his eyes slowly seeing the ceiling and a dark figure hovering over him. It took him a minute to get his focus correct, but he knew inside it was Chance.
"Howdy stranger..." Weakly reciting as Jake moved his head to the side smiling, never taking his eyes off the figure of his lover.
"A fine hello to you too Jake, you gave me quite a "Run for my money" there love....how do you feel?"
"Tired, weak, sore all over...some areas more than one. But I guess that's what someone expects after giving birth to three angles, or so I've been told"
"Jake..." Chance lowered his ears and looked off to the side quickly, only his mate didn't understand the bodily message. "Jake...only two made it out alive, Hard Drive got to the last one before we could get it out and...." Before Chance could finish he heard a small squeak sound coming from Jake, looking back down he saw his mate shut his eyes tight as tears poured out. Chance cupped Jake's left cheek with his hand.
"I was hoping that....that it was all a dream; that it didn't actually happen. Oh god, my baby, my poor defenseless baby. I tried to do something but I wouldn't Chance; it's all because I was too weak too..." Nothing more could be said as Jake turned his head towards his pillow and sobbed. Chance knelt down some more and kissed the side of Jake's face; panting in between each breath he took, feeling his side once again remind him that he was mortal. Unknowing to Chance, the side of his body leaked through the bandage and trailed down is fur silently. It started ever since Chance left his own bed to travel to Jake's, still the chocolate colored tom cried as Chance now help onto his hand and hissed the back of his hand lightly.
"Jake, I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when it was really needed, but I got him and he's not going to hurt anyone one of us anymore, or ever! I made sure of that" Chance said, there was a hint of pride and anger in his words, but Jake only looked at him, wide eyed and still dazed.
"Chance......you didn't..."
"I did, I killed him right then and there love. He killed our unborn kitten, who could have known when he would have stricken, shoot by now they could all be dead, along with my family, your sister.....and you my love. I love you and I always will, but I had to do it. I just had....aaahhhh, h-h-had tooo....gahhh!!" Chance lost his grip on the railing and fell onto his side down on the marble floor, Jake could only see through the gaps the parallel bars made, seeing only Chance's legs on the ground along with a nicely formed pool of blood forming under Chance's body. The stir woke up someone from the shadows as Jake heard ruffling sounds coming from the direction of Chance's bedside area, out of the darkness Daisey and Ian immerged stretching after falling asleep on the chairs the hospital provided.
"What was that sound?" Daisey yawned looking down onto Chance's empty bed; she noticed the blood trail and followed it with her eyes before seeing Chance's unconscious body on the floor next to Jake's bed. Her brother now sitting up from his spot looking directly at her eyes, the moment almost froze the she-kat right then and there.
"....help him...." Jake weakly pleaded as he took deep breaths through his oxygen mask. Ian instantly hit the alarm button on Chance's bed and then went over to his brother's body to flip him over on his back, he blood oozed out from his right side. All the lights turned on in the room when the doctor and nurse's came in to inspect what happened. One of the nurses went over to Jake's side and tried to comfort the smaller tom, Jake just continued to persist and tried to get out of the bed himself to help out Chance, but he was too weak, weak enough to be pushed back down onto the bed by the skinny shekat nurse. Immediately the medical team took Chance out of the room and brought him to surgery, Daisey went to her brother's side and held him tight trying to stop Jake from shivering so much. No words were said from there on, Ian just stood next to Daisey with a sadden look on his face.
"Don't worry Jake, both of you will heal up soon and head home....together" Planting a delicate kiss on top of her brothers forehead, Daisey rocked Jake in her arms as his morphine took over and helped the tom fall asleep.
The Junkyard
A week passed and Jake was released from the hospital with his kittens, Callie and Kyle stayed with him for a while until Jake was able to move around on his own. In the kitchen of their house all three kats sat around the round table drinking coffee and snacking on treats that Daisey had dropped off earlier that day.
"So when is Chance suppose to get home?" Callie yawned, it was late in the afternoon and little Emma wouldn't go to sleep as she continued to stare at the blond she-kat and the ceiling. Waving her arms every second to grab onto something, small burps left her mouth signaling that she was full after her milk feeding from Jake. Kyle had just finished putting baby Lance in his crib upstairs, he was the calm one of two who only liked to sleep and eat, and Lance was hardly a bother to anyone. Jake sat back in his chair sipping at his mug of coffee, tasting the warm hazelnut flavor and savoring every sip.
"Later this evening, Adam is brining him over when he's finished working at the gym. I can't wait to see my mate again. He's going to be hurting for a while but as long as he's home I'll be able to look after him and our kittens all at once."
"Just don't over do it Jake, you just finished giving birth to and need your rest. Don't forget, we'll be here too just in case you need any help" Kyle responded, flipping through the newspaper for something interesting to read. Things in the city have been quiet ever since the incident at the hospital with Hard Drive, no crimes were committed and the news channel had nothing interesting to report for a month.
"Has anyone wondered how Chance got so beaten up? No one I've seen could take him, as far as I know of....its just strange to me" Callie spoke up cradling Emma in her arms; she got up and started to pace the kitchen floor looking down at the female kitten smiling. Jake just lowered his ears and sighed to himself, he knew exactly how Chance got hurt and why, but he could never tell the others the real reason for his injuries. Sometimes it was harder to keep the secret than actually resisting sharing it with somebody and asking for a little help, or guidance. Jake found it odd that the Enforcers weren't trying to hunt down the SWAT Kats for the murder of Hard Dive, usually Feral would have a field day trying to track them both down. What was even stranger was when Jake heard about the TurboKat's landing in the city, but when all the Enforcers went to the hospital to stop Hard Drive the jet vanished and returned to the junkyard on its own when they came back to the crash site. It was still in bad shape after the crash but it managed to make it back to the junk yard without Chance, too many things ran through his mind that didn't add up. Jake wasn't to concerned about the jet though, more so over the kitten that he lost, he nearly spent a week crying in his room not wanting to eat or drink anything. Nail and Earl had to literally break down the barricaded door just to get to Jake and plead with him to eat something, still he wouldn't comply. Jake took the last couple sips of his drink before placing his mug on the table, not realizing it was kind of rough as the sound echoed in the kitchen. Kyle placed his hand over Jake's and smiled.
"Are you feeling a little bit better?"
"I'm not sure....I really can't say what I'm feeling right now, kind of empty and yet not really. It complicated to explain, but I think I'm just in my own mental limbo." Almost spoken in a whisper, Callie stood next to her best friends and handed Jake his kitten, Emma held on tight to Jake's shirt when she was taken by his familiar hands. Jake looked down at his kitten and smiled slightly, she reminded him so much of Chance, and he figured it was her eyes that matched Chance's. "But every time I look at one of my kittens, everything goes away for a moment and leaves me at peace that I can never measure. I just wish Chance was here right now to experience the same thing, he's done so much for this family already.....I can never repay him for his kindness or love." Jake frowned slightly, Callie took Jake's empty mug and walked over to the sink to rinse it out, the placed the cup upside down on the drying rack. Emma began a series of yawns as her eyes closed and her body slowly stopped moving, Jake took the hint and brushed his index finger against her cheek before standing up with her held tight against his body. The chocolate colored tom made his way out of the kitchen and up the flight of stairs to his room, followed by Kyle just in case Jake would have a sudden fainting spell. Jake opened the door to his room, once again almost off the hinges from Nail and Earl's assault and walked over to the crib Chance had bought for Christmas last week. It hurt Jake that they couldn't have a quiet Christmas this year as mates but it was something that they couldn't control. Lance laid spread-eagle on his stomach in his green PJ's, his blond fur matching Chance's more with dark shades at random patches of hair. Jake place Emma down next to her brother, both now sound asleep as Jake placed a thin sheet over the two, he made sure the baby monitor was on before leaving the room with Kyle leaving his broken door open half way. The light from the hallway gave the room enough illumination and shinned on the crib itself, the small mechanical toy hanging above the crib played the familiar lullaby song that Jake knew when he was little; probably every kat knew its tune like clockwork. Jake jumped a little bit when he felt a paw on his shoulder, turning around slightly to see the white furred kat Kyle behind him.
"Come one, let's get you to bed. You look tired too Jake; might as well get some rest and skip through time for a little. When you wake up, Chance will be home with you again." Kyle stated smiling at his friend, Jake nodded and walked down the hall to Chance's room, the dark familiarity didn't scare him anymore since he'd been sleeping in Chance's room since he returned and after his little depression period. Jake entered and closed the door behind him, slowly making his way to the large bed at his own leisure, finally crawling under the heavy blanket and falling asleep instantly when his head connected with the pillow he brought from his room. Everything in that room smelled like his mate, it made Jake feel safe to be around his things, it brought him security and unspoken delight....it was Chance's very essence. It was foggy outside of the garage; a light layer of snow covered the muddy ground of the junkyard. Both Kyle and Callie's vehicles were parked outside of the house, another car drove up stopping in a smooth motion. The lights turned off as the driver door opened, Adam came out slowly before stretching his arms in the air, the back seat door opened as well. Nail came out of the car quicker than Adam did, he closed his door and went to open up the passenger seat door and reached inside to help Chance stand. The burly kat grunted a bit but finally made it on his feet, looking around the junkyard smiling to himself about his return. Adam closed his door and went to the trunk to grab Chance's things they had packed, Nail and Chance began to walk to the doorway where Callie stood waving her small hand at Chance who smiled back in delight.
"I'm home" Chance sighed as they entered the house, Adam came carrying 2 gym bags worth of clothing and personal items, he shut the door behind him with his foot hearing the soft click of the knob. The trio made it inside the house, Adam lugging the gym bags to the living room and finally dropping them down onto the carpet rug. The youngest male sibling rotated his shoulders forward and backwards to relax his muscles, Callie held onto Chance as she escorted him to the kitchen where hot coffee and treats awaited the group. Once inside Chance found a seat and slowly lowered himself on the wooden frame and soft cushion, grunting at the slight pain he felt. His medications were strong, that's for sure. Nail, Kyle, and Adam joined the other two in the kitchen; Adam leaned on the counter along with Kyle as Nail sat at the table with Callie and Chance.
"It's goof o have you home Chance, we've missed you so much" Callie smiled, Chance nodded and smiled back, he was too overwhelmed with being home able to see his friends and family, his own family and none the less....he was alive. He was stile alive, able to breath in the scent of a summer's morning day, the soft texture of Jake's fur. He'll be able to gaze out of his window to see the light of day as the view of the junkyard becomes as clear as day, and a new adventure to explore his life with his mate. The sound of crying echoing from upstairs awoke Chance from his state of thinking, Kyle swiftly left the kitchen and climbed the steps into Jake's room to sooth the newborns. Slowly Chance rose from his seat holding onto the end of the kitchen table; Callie stood up and began to make her way to Chance's side until he placed his hand in the air asking her to stop. With a quick boost from, Chance shot straight up from his seat, balancing himself with his arms opened at his side. The burly tabby felt the blood rushing to his head as the room started to spin and Chance could feel his knee's give out. Suddenly Chance fell backwards into Nail's arms; he didn't even notice his friend rush to his side when he stood up. Nail slowly lowered his friend back down on the chair as Callie grabbed Chance's hand and began to pat it lightly. The yellow tabby closed his eyes and took deep breaths through his mouth, Adam stood at the kitchen entrance looking at his injured brother; his ears lowered as the kat looked away slightly. Adam needed to get some air, he was feeling a bit lightheaded as well as the tom turned around heading towards the door until he could hear more crying coming from upstairs. Adam began to climb the steps, after reaching the top the muscular kat went to the end of the hall and entered Jake's room on the left to see Kyle pacing the bedroom holding Emma over his shoulder. He kitten began to calm down and drift back to sleep, Kyle hummed softly to the shekat closing his eyes as he walked in a circle. Adam stood at the doorway smiling a little, he looked inside the room and to the right he saw Lance lying on his stomach sleeping soundly.
"So, a little different than television wouldn't you say?" Kyle broke the silence opening one of his eyes to peek at Adam; he caught the muscular kat off guard seeing Adam flinch a bit.
"Uhh, what do you mean?"
"You know; kittens. Television always makes raising them so easy when in real life it's a bit more challenging. A joy, but much more challenging than others let on." Kyle chuckled to himself.
"Yeah I guess so, but they're so little. It's just hard to believe that they're here and safe after all that's happened to Jake. Now my brother is hurt and none of us knows how he got so beat up I the first place. Ever...ever since Ian hit me months ago I..." Adam caught himself quickly before saying anything more, Kyle looked at the muscular yellow tabby as he finished tucking Emma into her crib.
"You mean since the cook-out..."
"Lets....lets let these kittens sleep, we don't want to wake them up now" Adam interrupted before Kyle could continue. Shortly after he left the room and went back downstairs, Kyle walked to the door after turning off the lights and left leaving the door slightly open. He could see the kittens wiggling where they lay; Kyle took out his cell phone and started to make his way to the stair until he saw Nail, Callie and Adam helping chance up the steps. Kyle backed away as they reached the top, Nail escorted Chance inside his room; minutes later Nail came out and shut the door behind him.
"Well they're both out like a light, they can use the rest." Nail stated.
"I'll be staying here for the night and Kyle's coming in the morning with Mr. Clawson's servants. Don't worry, they're in good hands" Callie smiled; the group decided to call it a night and left the house while Callie slept in the room with the kittens. The night went on smoothly; the wind blew hard outside as the kats inside listened to its whistle. In Chance's room, Jake lay in the grasp of Chance's arms around his waist, Chance laid on his side breathing softly on top of Jake's head. Jake was awake just enjoying his happy moment, something that he hasn't felt in a long time.
"Jake?" Chance softly spoke into the quiet air, his eyes still closed as he tightened his grip on his lover. Jake was surprised to hear Chance's voice, placing his hands on the thick, meaty arm that hugged his stomach. "Jake?" This time Chance's words sounded worried and hurt, the burly tabby was still feeling sore and sick and just wanted to hear his mate's voice.
"I'm here Chance, there's nothing to worry about" Jake snuggled closer to Chance's body.
"...that's all I needed to know" Chance sighed, opening his mouth and curling his tongue as he took a deep breath to yawn, slowly closing his mouth when he was finished.
"Chance, what's going to happen to us now? We have kittens, and the garage to tend to, and if the city needs the SWAT Kats then....how do we manage?" Jake knew Chance would drift to seep soon, but he needed to say something about their current situation. Chance just gazed forward trying not to let his eyes drop due to the medications he took before sleeping.
"Jake, we'll make it through this; we're been though a lot worse. As long as I have you by my side..." Jake turned around facing his tall, strong lover. Chance pulled the heavy blanket over the both of them:
~Ian's Car~
"So, you're just going to go head on with him? You do know he owns a gym, the kat lifts and body builds every day Ian. You may have been trained in different martial arts styles, but he's not a little kitten anymore like we all believe, he can handle himself just fine. So can Chance, Anna and myself Ian" Jackie explained. "Will you use his greatest fear against our own flesh and blood?"
~Clawson Manor~
"When the topic came up, he remembered back to the cook-out accident, but quickly dropped the subject when he comes to the part about being stuck down by Ian. It seems like that's the most haunting event that happened to him, he cringes at the thought and gets defensive about it or avoids it all together" Kyle scratched the back of his ear, his helmet often caused his fur on his head to bunch up together, especially behind his ears.
~Adam's Apartment~
Adam took out the bottle in his pocket after reaching the bottom floor, popping it open and downing the remaining pills into his mouth. Stumbling a bit as he tossed the cap randomly into the darkness of the living room, still holding onto the bottle himself. Adam grabbed the bottle of wine left over on the table and began to chug it in large gulps, when the last of the dark red liquid went down his throat Adam put the bottle down hard and made his way to the living room. He was feeling flush, his body temperature began to rise slowly as Adam took off his shirt, sweat formed on his body as Adam banged his knee on the coffee table in the living room. Losing his balance the burly tom fell onto the couch; his body was denying his brain control as the yellow tabby crawled half his body over the cushion seats while his lower body sat on the carpet.
"What's wrong with me?" The burly kat sobbed hard but silent, eventually passing out from exhaustion and help from the medication, his hand dropped the orange bottle onto the floor empty.
~Cliff's Hotel Suite~
"That bastard, he left two alive! I guess it's to be expected, he got what came to him by that SWAT Kat and I don't have to repay him with any more drugs. No matter, I'll make my move on Little Stripes; the kitten looks like he's been through hell. Taking advantage of that can earn me some trust within the family once again" Cliff Laughed to himself, he grabbed his cane and went to his bedroom, the dark candle lit room made the red velvet furniture more luscious and expensive. On his bed was a white tiger tied down, his arms and legs tied to each post of his bed, lying on his stomach with a gag in his mouth. Moaning could be heard as the tiger wiggled naked in his place, he looked behind himself to see Cliff beginning to take off his robe, Cliff as well was naked and his erection stood hard and long. "At least I wont be bored tonight" Cliff smiled as he mounted the tiger below and insert himself violently inside his love slave, outside of his room the sounds of hard moaning and crying could be heard along with the sound of the bed roughly hitting the wall over and over again.
~Police Headquarters~
"Sir, what are we to do about the SWAT Kat case in the murder of Hard Drive? It's still an open case" The soldier saluted to Commander Feral as he stood gazing out the windows and down on the city, the panther thought long and hard until he grabbed his coat off his seat and began to walk out the door. "Sir?"
"I have someone to see about that, pay no mind to it soldier. I have to see someone I haven't been nice to in a long ass time." Feral explained as he walked towards the elevator waiting for it to come to the top floor, finally the bell rung as the doors opened and the Commander went inside. Turning around to see the soldier still standing in his place looking confused, the doors closed as the elevator made its way to the bottom floor, Feral thought to himself as he stood tall and strong.
"Chance Ferlong, so you were one of the elusive SWAT Kats after all huh? Can't say I'm not surprised, you were one of our best pilots. I'm starting to wonder though; Jake Clawson was giving birth at that same hospital, in the same room where you killed Hard Drive. I don't believe in coincidence, and if I'm right you both have a lot of explaining to do." Commander Feral snapped out of his deep thinking as the elevator stopped and the doors opened, the tall panther power walked out of the building and to the police parking garage.
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"....As long as I have you by my side we'll make it. I'll protect you until the day I die Jake, no one will hurt you or out kittens as long as I stand. We have each other, our family and friends, nothing could be more perfect." Chance finally gave into the medication and drifted to sleep holding onto his love.
To Be Continued...
Author's Note:
Well that's it readers, then end of the first installment of "Take A Chance On Me". I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed thinking of the story, characters, plot and plot twists and much more. This is my first every fan fiction about anything and I'm glad that it was based off of SWAT Kats. At the end of this chapter I've included dialogue from chapters I've written for the next installment of the story, my little way of teasing. Now then, I'll be busy for a while making "Take A Chance on Me Too", either working on the story or the title. Happy Reading!