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A LEOPARD'S TAIL

1. Part Five

Peter's mind wandered the next morning as he slowly awakened. He was feeling more rested and relaxed than he had felt for days. Eyes closed, he hovered on the edge between sleep and waking.

What's that sound? He asked himself.

Purring. He heard himself reply.

Where's it coming from? He wondered.

It's coming from you.

Me? Why?

Because you're a cat.

Oh. His internal conversation ceased for a moment. What's that sound again?

Ever so slowly Peter returned to the land of the living, finally coming fully awake, but keeping his eyes closed as he lay there resting. Well, that seemed like a good night's sleep, for once. A large yawn struck Peter jut as he was about to concentrate on changing himself back, and when his head moved to release it, he felt something slide across his skull. Something warm.

What the...? Suddenly he could hear the sound of breathing, and there was a scratching sensation between his ears. His eyes quickly shut themselves, seemingly of their own will, and he had the urge to simply lay back down and return to sleep. Instead he shook his head and stood up, a bit shakily, and looked around.

He was surprised to find himself standing next to the sofa, which appeared to have been moved halfway across the room. But what really surprised him was finding a rapidly waking Karen lying on the sofa, her hand dangling off the edge. Seeing that she was waking up, he quickly glanced around the room, and dashed for his bedroom.

Karen woke up with a start, feeling something move under her hand. She was disoriented for a second before she remembered where she was. She sat up on the sofa and looked around, catching a yellow blur in the corner of her eye. Her heart skipped for a second, before she remembered who it was.

"Peter? It's me, Karen." She said, quickly getting up off the sofa and walking towards the bedroom door. "You fell asleep last night and I didn't want to wake you. I hope you don't mind that I..." She was just about to the door when it suddenly slammed shut before her, well over a hundred pounds of feline pushing it closed from the other side. Karen stood still for a moment in surprise, then listened as a few sounds came through the door. A few seconds later, a low, rumbly voice came through the door.

"Just give me a second..." The sound of fabric being rustled and then a zipper being closed came through the door, and a moment later it opened, revealing a somewhat disheveled and wide eyed, yet healthy looking Peter, dressed in a pair of jeans and an unbuttoned shirt.

"Um, hello.. I mean, Good morning.." He stammered.

"I hope you don't mind.." Karen said, pointing at the sofa.

"Oh, no! I mean, of course not. You just surprised me, that's all." Geez.. I was about to change back right there! Now that would have been more than slightly embarrassing...

Karen nodded and chuckled "I'm afraid I kind of put you to sleep last night. You looked really tired so I didn't want to wake you, but I didn't want to just leave you here alone either...."Peter shook his head. "You really didn't have to do that. I've been waking up like that every morning..." He grinned a bit. "But thanks anyway."

Karen looked down at the clock on his desk. "Well, I should be heading off to the zoo..." She picked up the case she had brought with her. "I'll get these samples analyzed later tonight, when most of the people are gone. It shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'll call you later, and come over with the test results? She asked.

Peter nodded. "Sure, sounds fine to me..." He looked at the clock himself and coughed. "Holy...! I've got to get ready for work!!"

Karen chuckled as she headed for the door, and Peter vaulted over the sofa, putting one hand on the back to propel himself into the bathroom. The sound of the sink running immediately filled the apartment.

"I guess I'll talk to you later then Peter." Karen said, opening the door.

Peter's head suddenly stuck out from the door, a toothbrush in his mouth. He waved and pulled his head back in as Karen closed the door behind her, case in hand, and resisted the urge to burst out laughing.

Peter practically slid into the office as he stopped, noting that the clock read eight o'clock as he sailed past it. Just in time. He said to himself with a grin.

"Good morning Ted!" He said cheerily as he passed by his boss's door. Ted blinked for a moment, seeming momentarily taken back.

I'm... I'm amazed!" He said with a grin. "For once you didn't call me 'Mr. Murphy'!" He stepped back into his office for a moment, coming out with a small stack of papers. "I've got a few projects for you to look over today..."

Peter smiled happily as he walked over to his cubicle, whistling to himself.

"Morning guys and gals..." He said cheerily to his coworkers, huddled together as was usual every morning "Oh, and you too Dan." He added with a chuckle as he approached.

Everyone stared at him as he walked past to drop his papers off in his cubicle. His clothes and hair looked a bit disheveled, but he looked a much better than yesterday. MUCH better.

"Well, would you look at that... What's up with him?" Brooke wondered out loud as she watched Peter drop his work onto his desk.

Jake grinned and shrugged. "Maybe he finally took my advice and started making his coffee with caffeinated water." Frank looked up from his paper just long enough to shake his head sadly before going back to reading.

"Hey Peter. What's up? You seem rather cheerful this morning." Dan said, adjusting his sunglasses as Peter returned

"Up? Nothing really..." He took a moment to think. "I guess I AM a bit cheerful this morning.." He chuckled and grinned. "Don't exactly know why." He replied honestly. "Guess I just needed a good night's sleep. Anyway, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth..." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. Everyone else just looked at each other, shrugged, and smiled.

"Well, It's good to see you looking better." Brooke said, speaking for all of them.

Peter grinned. "Well, I know I've been acting a bit weird lately..." He chuckled. "And to be honest, I'll probably be acting a bit weird in the future... But I just happen to be feeling damned good today, and I want to say... MY GOD FRANK, WHAT THAT ON YOUR SHOULDER?!?"

Peter burst out laughing when Frank hopped up from reading his paper and swung his head back from shoulder to shoulder. After a second he realized he been played for a fool. Everyone chuckled a Peter grinned, shrugged, held his hands out, and did his best to look like the picture of innocence. Frank grumbled good-naturedly, picked his paper back up, and without further ado went back to reading.

Peter's coworkers all shook their head and grinned as Peter skipped back to his cubicle, whistling horribly out of tune. It was looking to be an interesting day.

Peter let out a deep breath as he flopped down onto his sofa. He'd been pretty busy today. It looked like business was speeding up at the office. But despite that, he was still feeling pretty well rested and cheerful.

Not that he wasn't nervous anymore. Walking around large groups of people still made his heart beat a bit faster, and caused him to concentrate harder on staying himself, but he still felt better. More relaxed, at ease. He'd been starting to feel better since yesterday, probably because he'd finally shared his story with someone, but he felt a whole lot better than yesterday. He'd even found it considerably easier to change back to himself this morning, despite his surprise... He wondered why he was feeling so good all of a sudden and shrugged. Like he'd said earlier, best not look a gift horse in the mouth...

Peter quickly reached over and hit 'playback' on his answering machine.

"Hi Peter, its Karen. I finished running some tests on those samples. I'll come over to your apartment as soon as I get off, around seven if that's okay. If there's a problem, you can just call me down here. I forgot that I never gave you the number." Karen listed her phone number before continuing. "I'll see you tonight then. Bye."

Peter stretched out on the sofa an yawned before looking at his clock. About a quarter after six. I wish I could take a little nap. Peter thought to himself. I'm still a bit tuckered out from the last few days. But if I go to sleep, I'll have to get all undressed and then redressed before Karen gets here... Oh well.

Peter shrugged and turned on the television while he waited. Flipping through the channels, he soon landed on a Nation Geographic documentary on the jungles of Africa which quickly absorbed his interest. He kept having the urge to root for the cats every time they showed hunting scenes though...

Karen had just rang the doorbell when the door opened in front of her, revealing Peter standing there. She was momentarily surprised by how quickly he answered the door.

"Were you waiting by the door for me?" She asked with a chuckle as she stepped inside, a small folder under her arm.

Peter shook his head and smiled "Nope, sorry to disappoint you... I just thought I heard someone walking in the hallway, and I thought it might be you, so I decided to go check, that's all."

Karen smiled and nodded. "Well, I've got the results of the tests I ran on those blood samples I got from you." She said, holding up the folder. "I didn't run any really complex tests since they take a few days to perform. And I don't know how to run them." She admitted with a smile. "But anyway, I'll give you the basics."

Karen took a seat across from Peter, while he sat back down on the couch. "The tests I've run on the first blood sample seem to show you as a perfectly normal, healthy human being, except for one little thing." She said, opening the folder and looking at some papers. "You're body seems to be running a bit low on proteins.... Whether that's a result of your changes, or if your leopard metabolism is running differently while you're asleep I don't know. But that's probably why you've been eating so much meat lately. Your body needs more protein. I'd have to suggest vitamins, or maybe you can get some of those body-building protein shakes from a health store."Peter nodded in understanding. At least that pretty much explained his strange tastes lately.

"Now, when I ran the third sample through, you showed up as a perfectly normal male leopard, anywhere from four to eight years old, which matches with your body size and human age. Except for the same slight lack of proteins, you seem perfectly healthy in both forms. Now, as for the second sample..." Karen scratched her head. "To be honest, I can't tell you much, since I can't make much sense of it.. I don't have any baseline 'normal' to go by, and it seems to be a blend of both human and leopard characteristics.." She shrugged. "All I can say is you seem healthy in both other forms, so I'd have to guess you're healthy between them." She said with a grin. Peter smiled and nodded.

Karen closed the folder. "Well, that's about it for the tests. Sorry I can't tell you anything more."

Peter nodded. "That's okay. You've been a big help already. And at least now I have a logical reason for why I've been eating so much meat lately, besides that I'm just going catty." He said with a chuckle. "And speaking of eating... Would you like to stay for dinner?" Peter asked hesitantly. "I'll only take me a few minutes to whip something up, and making for two is as easy as making for one."

Karen thought for a moment, then grinned and nodded. "Sure, why not." She laughed. "I guess it's best off we eat here anyway. Out last two attempts to go out haven't worked too well!"

"Well, third times the charm!" Peter laughed, getting up and heading into the kitchen. He started boiling water and took a box of pasta out of the cupboard. "And contrary to common belief, us bachelors CAN actually cook. After all, I'm still alive, aren't I?" Peter grinned and Karen smiled as he started getting out two plates.

A little while later, Karen and Peter sat at opposite ends of the small table in Peter's kitchen, eating their pasta. Peter had never really entertained many guests, and the kitchen table was pretty small since it was usually only used by one person. Still, two people could sit at it without difficulty.

Karen couldn't help but look at the several large meatballs Peter had in a small dish next to his pasta. When Peter noticed her gaze, he grinned and shrugged, offering her one. Karen chuckled and shook her head.

"Sorry about the accommodations..." Peter said, indicating the kitchen. "I'm afraid I don't have people over for dinner too often..."

Karen nodded. "Oh, that's okay. It's not a problem." She grinned. "Besides, the foods not bad, and you can't beat the service!" Both Peter and Karen laughed.

"So, how are things at the zoo?" Peter asked, taking a bite out of a meatball.

"Oh, things are going pretty well. That leopard you pointed out to me earlier has been doing well. We've been feeding it some medication in its food, and it seems to be coming along." Karen looked across at him. "I understand why you didn't want to tell me anything about how you knew that animal was sick before, but if you don't mind me asking, I'm still curious...?"

Peter sighed and closed his eyes for a moment as Karen watched on, somewhat concerned.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm really not sure how I did, just like I don't know why this whole thing is happening to me in the first place..." He took another deep breath. "I was just walking along the path, minding my own business, relaxing and enjoying myself a little when I suddenly got a headache. I looked around to see where I was, and there they were." He shrugged. "I looked down into the leopard enclosure, and I just KNEW that that animal was ill..."

"Like telepathy?" Karen asked, entranced. Peter shook his head vigorously.

"No, nothing like that at all... I couldn't tell what they were thinking... I just knew that one was sick. I really can't explain it. It was just too strange."Karen nodded and the two ate in silence for a few minutes before Karen spoke again.

"I was thinking..." Peter looked up at her, and she paused for a second. "I had a little idea a short time ago... Call it another test..." She looked back at Peter for a moment. "I was thinking that maybe you could come down to the zoo, and stay around the leopard enclosure for a bit..."

Peter closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side, less in denial than as if trying to clear his head of the idea.

Karen hurriedly continued. "I know a good deal about animal behavior, and seeing how they react to you might reveal some things about just how much you change into a leopard. You could just hang around the cage for a while before actually going in, and I could let you back out the second you started to feel uncomfortable... I'm almost certain that the leopards wouldn't bother you..." Peter stopped shaking his head and took a deep breath before opening his eyes again.

"I'M just about certain that they wouldn't bother me even if I stepped in there as a normal human." Peter said. "That's not what worries me. Or rather, it IS what worries me..." He shivered and spoke in a low voice, almost to himself, looking away. "That they act differently around me than a normal person..."

"What was that?" Karen asked, leaning across the table to try to hear what he said, a troubled expression on her face.

"It's... Nothing." Peter replied, still looking away, to the side.

"No, really. You can tell me."

Peter took a deep breath and looked back at here, eyes full of emotion. "I... Worry sometimes, you know? I get worried that I might start acting like a leopard as well as changing into one. Start going feral, or something like that." He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. "This whole thing with eating so much meat..." He waved to the small dish of meatballs in front of him. "Really had me worried. Sometimes I get scared that I..." He took another deep breath and continued, mingled worry and fear obvious in his voice. "That I might wake up one morning and forget I'm me. Forget I'm human. That I might wake up and just stay as a leopard for the rest of my life, and never remember that I was anything else..." He looked away again.

Karen put her hand on his. "Look, I really can't say that I know what you're going through, but I can say this: You seem like a normal, decent, hard working human being, and I don't think anything is going to change that. Just because you happen to look a bit different when you wake up in the morning doesn't mean you're going to lose your humanity." She smiled. "Heck, you should see ME some mornings!" Peter looked up and grinned a bit, nodding.

Karen took a deep breath. "I really think you should try this, if only to help confront some of your fears."

"Like I did when I went to the zoo the first time, and when I went down with you to feed the cats?" Peter asked, and shivered.

Karen nodded. "I can only suggest it, that's all. If you don't want to do it, I understand."

"No..." Peter blinked and shook his head. "No, you're right. I really need to face up to it..." A small grin appeared on his face. "It's kind of like taking medicine when I was little. I really hated doing it, and it was almost unpleasant, but it was always necessary, and it usually made me feel better." He took a deep breath. "How should we do this?"

Karen smiled at him for a moment, and then they started making plans.

What am I doing here? Peter asked himself as he walked through the zoo's main gates with Karen. It was past eight o'clock on Saturday, and the place was just about deserted. I must be insane to even THINK about doing this... The past two days had gone by mostly in a blur for Peter... He'd done whatever needed to be done, but his mind had been on tonight the whole time.

The security guard sitting in the booth besides the gate looked up and then waved as they passed by.

"Good evening Mrs. Fuller. Here a bit late, aren't you?" He asked. Karen smiled back.

"Hi Chuck. Oh, you know how I am. Coming by to check up on the animals. This is Peter." Karen said, pointing to Peter. "He's going to be assisting me in a few tests."

The security guard nodded. "Sure thing Mrs. Fuller." He grinned. "If anything busts out of it's cage and tries to eat you, you just holler." Karen chuckled, while Peter paid little attention, occupied with his thoughts.

"I don't think that'll be a problem Check. Seeya later." Karen waves. "Come on Peter. We've got work to do."

Peter blinked, looked up, nodded, and wordlessly followed her. Back at the booth, the security guard chuckled to himself and started reading a book.

"Looks like that girl's got that poor boy on a leash already."

"You come around here this late often?" Peter asked curiously, his nervousness showing through slightly in his tone of voice.

"Oh yeah." Karen nodded. "I drop by at all hours. The security guards are used to me by now. Besides, it's not like there's much to steal in a zoo. Besides some drug addict attempting to steal some tranquilizers a couple of years ago, not much happens around here at night."

"You must really like the animals."

"Well, it's my job to take good care of them.." She cleared her throat as they reached the small shed that housed the stairs to the backs of all the feline enclosures. "Well, here we are." Karen quickly fished a key out of her pocket and opened the door.

"Yeah, here we are..." Peter said, shivering slightly. Karen put a hand on his shoulder as they entered the stairs and she closed the door behind them.

"You really don't have to do this if you don't want too."

Peter shook his head. "I'm here. I might as well go through with it." He took a deep breath and looked around. "Um... I'm going to need a place to change..."

Oh, that's right." Karen shook her head. "I completely forgot!" she thought for a moment. "Well, we can't have you running around the zoo grounds as a leopard..." She thought out loud. Peter shuddered at the thought. "I guess you'll just have to change in here." She said.

"In HERE?" Peter looked around. "Where?"

"Well, I guess you'll have to do it in the stairs here..." Peter's face turned slightly pink, and Karen laughed. "I'll go down and wait around the corner for you. You can just leave your clothes here for when you change back."

"But what about..." Peter wordlessly pointed towards the door.

"Oh, don't worry about that. The zoo should be just about empty. I don't think that there's anyone left around at this time of night."

Peter sighed and nodded his head. "Alright then. Seems I have no choice."

Resisting the urge to giggle, Karen walked down the stairs and around the corner to wait.

About five minutes later, a black spotted, yellow furred head stuck itself around the corner of the stairs, slowly turned to look both ways, and then stepped into view. Peter stood in the middle of the path, looking from Karen and then back up the stairs as if in indecision. After a few moments, he hesitantly walked over towards Karen, head down low.

Karen smiled at him. "There you are. Are you ready?"Peter slowly nodded his head up and down. He didn't look up or to the sides though. He could FEEL the eyes of the other animals watching him with curiosity. Curiosity killed the... Peter stopped that thought and slowly followed Karen as she walked a few feet down towards the leopard's enclosure. The scents of so many other animals, as well as the scent of Karen herself, and the feeding cart that was waiting to be refilled by the wall, assailed his nose.

I wonder how Karen would react if I told her she smelled? Peter joked to himself, trying to relax. As he approached the leopard enclosure, he looked up and stopped dead in his track a foot or two from the bar. On the other side of the bars sat the three leopards, all staring at him. Not doing anything aggressive. Not running around. Not even moving. Just laying there. Staring.

Karen waves her hand up and down in front of the leopards' faces. They barely glanced at her, focusing on Peter.

"Well, that's unusual behavior..." She commented. Peter shivered, and he looked down at him. "Are you okay?" Peter waited a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Alright then... Why don't we just wait here for a few minutes until you get used to this, and then you can go into the enclosure... If the leopards start to act odd or aggressive, or if you start to feel uncomfortable for any reason, I'll have you out in an instant. Okay?"

If he were human, Peter would have laughed. I'm ALREADY uncomfortable... Instead he just nodded his head and sat down on his hind legs in front of the bars. The Leopards just continued laying on their side, staring at him. Peter tried to match the one of their stares for a few moment, but quickly ended up turning his head and looking away.

Why won't they stop staring at me?? Quit it! He called mentally. The cats adjusted their positions slightly, and continued their staring.

"Are you... Ready to try going in?" Karen asked cautiously. Peter turned his head to look at her, then turned back to look at the cats. He matched stares with the closest one for a moment, then slowly nodded his head.

Karen took a deep breath. "Okay then, here we go." She carefully opened the latch on the door to the cage, opening it just enough for Peter to slowly slip through. The other leopards didn't even stir from their positions, still staring.

Peter was about halfway through when he stopped dead, ears going up. What was that...? It took him a moment to recognize the sound before panic set in.

Karen watched as Peter suddenly stopped entering the cage, assuming he was just being anxious. Not that she could blame him. She was starting to think it was a bad idea to suggest he put himself under so much strain in the first place. Suddenly Peter turned around in the middle of the door, and frantically waves a paw down the hall, almost falling over in his hurry. Then he rubbed his paw against his ear, and then pointed down the hallways again.

"Huh? What is it..." Before Karen could feel like she was acting out a part from an old Lassie show, she suddenly got it. "You hear someone coming??" Peter nodded his head vigorously. Karen thought fast. "Your clothes! They're still on the stairs!! Quick, get in!" Peter nodded and hopped back into the cage, which Karen quickly closed.

"Stay right there!! I'll be back in a second!" Karen said, neglecting the fact that there weren't very many places Peter COULD go at that moment. She rushed down the hall and ran up the stairs, grabbing his clothes as she heard the door rattle as someone tried a wrong key. She wrapped the clothes into a bundle and ran back downstairs, looking for someplace to hide them. Spotting the feeding cart, she stuffed them under that for the moment, just as she heard the door open and footsteps come down the stairs. She turned back towards the leopard cage, where Peter was sitting, facing nervously out the cage door."Just act normal!" She said quickly, as the footsteps approached. Peter blinked, wondering exactly what 'normal' he was supposed to act like. Karen took a step away from the bars and turned around, just as a well dressed man turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs and came into view. He spotted Karen and made a bee line towards her.

"Oh, there you are Karen." He said with a smile. "The security guard said you came in, along with an assistant?" He said, phrasing the last as a question.

"Oh, hello Mr. Jenkins. Peter is working on something else for me at the moment. He might have left already, I'm not sure." Karen replied, a bit nervously. Behind her, Peter concentrated on watching what was going on.

"Well, I'm glad I caught you!" He said with a grin. "I found a few documents pertaining to your section that I need your signature on. It shouldn't take too long." Jenkins looked at his watch for moment. "And maybe we could go out for dinner later? I can wait a bit if you're busy..." He said with a smile. For some reason Peter felt himself growling lowly.

Karen smiled back. "Well, I wasn't doing anything that I can't put off for a while. But I'm afraid I'll have to decline the dinner invitation. I still have a few things I have to finish here later, and then I was planning on getting a good nights sleep."

Jenkins grinned and shrugged. "Oh well. It was worth a try. Well, let's go get that paper work done, and then I'll be finished up for the day." Jenkins turned around and headed for the stairs, leaving Karen to follow. She turned her head to face Peter as she walked away, an indescribable look on her face at being forced to leave him there. Peter just watched her walk off, and waved a paw at her. Then she disappeared around the corner.

Peter sighed and hunkered down in front of the gate to the cage. Well, looks like I'm going to be here a while... I hope she's a fast signer... Suddenly Peter felt something brush past his side, and recalled exactly where he was. He spun around, almost tripping over his own tail. One of the three leopards had bumped against him while heading out of the cage area and walking back to the main enclosure. The animal looked back over its shoulder to stare at him for another moment, as if asking if he was coming. The other two leopards stared at him as well before sitting up.

Er.. Hello guys... Peter thought nervously, waving a paw in greeting. He slowly backed up against the bars of the cage. Well, this is going well....

A little over an hour later, Karen charged down the stairs at a reckless speed. Stupid paperwork! Stupid bureaucracy! Stupid boss!! She took the corner so fast she almost fell off her feet. She ran towards the leopard section as fast as she could, hoping Peter would be all right. This is all my fault! I suggested this whole stupid stunt! And I promised I'd make sure nothing happened to him! If anything HAS happened to him...

She skidded to a stop in front of the cage. Two of the cats were laying down a few feet away from the bars, staring out into the main enclosure where she assumed the other cat was. A third, familiar looking one was sitting with it's back pressing up against the bars of the gate.

"Peter?" she called out nervously to the cat next to the gate. It turned to face her and slowly nodded its head. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly began unlatching the door. "Thank goodness you're all right! I'm so sorry! This whole thing is my fault..."

As soon as the door was opened, Peter hopped through it and laid down on the floor, panting slightly. Karen quickly shut the cage, and then hugged him around the neck. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Are you okay? Are you okay?" Peter closed his eyes for a moment, still breathing a bit hard, and slowly stood back up as Karen let go of him. He slowly walked over to the feeding cart and pushed at it with his nose."Oh, your clothes!" Karen quickly grabbed the bundle out from under the cart, and dusted them off a bit. "Come on, I'll put them in the stairway... No one else should be dropping by.. Mr. Jenkins, my boss, left after we finished the paperwork... You ARE okay, right?" She asked, concern on her face. Peter nodded his head, still breathing a bit hard, and followed her into the stairs.

Karen put down the bundle and then hugged him again. "I was so worried... This is all my fault... I could barely keep from running down here, except that Mr. Jenkins would have followed me to see what was wrong..." Peter made a low purring noise, then shook his head a bit. He pointed down the stairs with a paw, and then poked his clothes.

"Oh, of course. I'll let you change back" She headed down the stairs, looking back to make sure he was okay before turning the corner to wait.

"You can come back now." Peter's voice called out a few minutes later, sounding a bit rough. Karen quickly turned the corner and headed up the stairs, finding Peter sitting on one of the stairs, eyes closed, breathing a bit heavily and leaning against the wall.

"Are you okay?" She asked, quickly coming up the stairs towards him. He opened his eyes, blinked, and nodded to her.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He shook his head. "That's not exactly something I'd like to do too often, but I'm okay."

"What happened?"

Peter took a deep breath. "They didn't bother me. They just stared at me for a bit, then went off on their own. I think they were just curious about me... Once they decided I wasn't a threat, they lost interest."

Karen nodded. "And how do you feel?"

"Okay I guess... Pretty good actually." He shook his head "I could never be like that. I could ACT like that... I suppose I could listen to my.. I don't know.. Instincts I guess, and act like a leopard, but I could never actually BE one." He nodded his head and took a deep breath. "I'll always be myself, no matter how I look." He smiled up at Karen.

Karen smiled back, still looking a bit concerned. "Come on, we'd better get up..." Karen lent Peter her hand, and he slowly stood up on the stairs, still a bit weak from the experience.

"You're SURE you're okay? This whole thing was my fault...." Karen said again. Peter nodded and yawned loudly.

"I'm fine. Just tired... Drained." He took a deep breath, and slowly started to climb the stairs. "And there's no reason to apologize. I agreed to this, and there was no way you could have known your boss was coming. Besides, it all turned out okay, so no harm done."

Karen nodded, not really convinced, and helped him up the stairs. "Maybe I should see you home and hang around for a little while... Make sure you're feeling alright and keep you company." Karen said, a bit of worry in her voice. Peter just smiled.

"I'll be fine, honestly. I just need a bit of sleep, and I'd just fall asleep on you if you came over anyway." Karen nodded.

"All right. But you can't stop me from helping you to your car, and if you're not looking a bit more alert by the time we get there, I'll be driving you home. And don't even think of arguing." She smiled back at Peter, who chuckled lightly.

"I wouldn't dream of it..." Peter replied, with a weak grin.

"Hello Mrs. Fuller. Something wrong with your friend?" The security guard asked as Karen walked past, Peter leaning against her a bit for support.

"Oh, he's okay." Karen said, giving the guard a smile. "He's not used to working so late, or with such large animals. One of the cats gave him a bit of a scare. He'll be fine. I'm just going to see him to his car, and then I'll be leaving myself."

"Sure thing Mrs. Fuller." The security guard said, nodding. "Have a nice night, both of you."

Karen nodded, and she and Peter continued walking, out through the gates, to the parking lot where their two cars sat.

"You're sure you're okay to drive?"

Peter laughed. "Yes, I'm okay to drive." He chuckled. "You're starting to worry more than ME!"

"Well... I suppose that you ARE one of my patients..." She chuckled as Peter got into his car, and rolled down his window to continue talking. "And I always take care of my patients."

Peter nodded and grinned. "I suppose I am at that." He smiled and spontaneously reached out to grab her hand, looking into her face. "Thanks." He said simply.

Karen smiled back. "For what?"

"For.. Everything. Not telling anyone about this. For trying to help me. For.. For not being scared of me, when I'm a little scared of me myself."

Karen smiled back and didn't say anything, and they squeezed each other's hands slightly. They stayed there like that for a few minutes, watching each other smile. Finally Peter cleared his throat and looked away, turning his keys in the ignition.

"Well, I really should get going before I fall asleep..." Peter said, stifling a yawn. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

Karen nodded. "Sure. I'll see you tomorrow then." She stepped back away from the car as Peter prepared to leave. She smiled at him and waved, and Peter did the same.

As they both left the parking lot, they unconsciously rubbed the hands hey had been holding.