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Happy Dance: S3 Chapter 21 for your reading pleasure :)

 
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 10:58 pm    Post subject: Happy Dance: S3 Chapter 21 for your reading pleasure :) Reply with quote

Chapter 21: Back To The Future…WRONG!!!!!

The space station had become like home to Warren and Endora for the last few days. The kids were nowhere to be found but they weren’t worried. Wandering the halls and talking to the Aliens-well Zargozians as they were known- they found them quite friendly and willing to help in any way. Warren had let the aliens check him out too. Why not? He had his problems too and if they could help, he’d gladly welcome it. They found bone fragments in his knees that shouldn’t be there; probably from that accident so long ago and a few other smaller things. The knees, they said, could be easily repaired and without too much discomfort. In short order, the procedures they recommended were done. He couldn’t believe the difference the treatment made in his ability to walk. Later that day Warren and Endora took a long walk around the station to celebrate.

They both stopped and looked out the window down at the planet Tarra; it was an enormous reminder to them of their home so far away. Warren’s gentle paw rested on her shoulder as they stared at the planet below.
“I never thought I would get into space.” Warren said softly.

“You thought?! I’m just a simple housewife Warren yet here I am, light-years from Earth watching an alien planet turn far below me. This has got to be one for the record books.” She looked into his eyes and saw deep concern there, more than there should be. “Don’t worry about me my love.”

“Dora you don’t have to…”

She put a finger to his muzzle and silenced him, then kissed him deeply. At this moment in her life she didn’t care that she was a clone or she was involved in some sort of paradox; she just wanted to be with her loving husband.




Not too far away:

Her outlook had changed a lot since she had come here; her hopes had been raised to a point where she thought that things were going to be ok. Now she wasn’t so sure that was going to be the case. She really hoped these aliens could help her as she turned her attention to Shearah who began to explain her options. The mechanics behind all this was years ahead of anything they had but it still came down to simple choices.

“Now;” Shearah said, “we can instigate a patch, so to speak; it would allow the original robots to repair themselves as they remain in your system. Since the codes to upgrade them are beyond our control, we can only work with the ancient programming. We cannot introduce too many new robots to the system with the old ones in place. It wouldn’t work; the programming structure that these older robots work on is far too different than what the new ones do and since they cannot talk to each other the old robots will attack the new ones. A few robots could coexist but too many will break down the system; the goal is to find a balance of old and new. The new robots would function in the same positions as the old ones but they would be working far below their potential. The old machines would continue to function for a while but their life span has almost come to an end since they have mostly expended their power cells in the desperate fight to keep you alive these last few months and I am not confident that these new machines will be able to keep up once the old ones fail. Once the old ones stop the new ones will too basically. This would put you back where you are now in a few short years.”

Ti considered this, “How long do you consider short, approximately?”

Shearah looked at her, “To keep your body going, maybe 2 to 5 of your years. After that your body would again begin to experience difficulties. Less if something happens to you. You are a complex organism to keep functioning day after day.”

Ti sighed, that wasn’t a very long time, “The other.”

Shearah cleared her throat, “We inject a different type of machines into your system, advanced models. They would do what the original machines were programmed to do and more but they would keep doing it more efficiently. They act more independently, rather than working as a group.” She stopped and let Ti absorb what she had told her.

“My life span in that case?”

There was silence for a moment then Shearah spoke, “It is against our beliefs that creatures live far beyond what life is capable of. For instance, we as a species, all of us have these machines living in us and they keep us healthy and repair minor injuries; yet we still age and eventually die. Now, by your standards we live very long lives but we still pass on.” Shearah stopped and moved in beside Tolare, “In your case, if we do this process your life span would almost be limitless.”

Ti blinked, it never really occurred to her but then she wasn’t really totally on the ball this particular moment. “Because of the regenerating cells Mother created?”

“Yes.” Tolare said, “As we stated before your body is in a constant form of regeneration. If we put this new colony of machines in you then the process would continue indefinitely. For us, we simply limit the number of generations causing us to eventually age and die but since your cells regenerate at wildly different rates we can’t limit the number of generations. You could find that your ears are immortal but your feet die in a year so the only option is to turn off the limits. There is an out however but most of our species would find it objectionable.” She paused, this was hard for her because as a physician she had taken an oath to protect and heal; this went beyond that. “To take ones own life shouldn’t be an option but in this case, that is how it must be. We can give you a way to shut your body down without discomfort; it would be a peaceful transition from this life to one beyond. It is the only solution we can offer to this situation.”

“Suicide? Wonderful,” Ti thought and shook her head; she didn’t like that idea one bit. Another horrible thought came to mind, “What if I’m badly hurt?”

Tolare answered Ti’s question in a very serious tone that upset her, “It is possible that the system would shut down by itself but, it is most likely to try to keep you alive at all costs.”

“Great, does that mean serious pain as well?” Ti grimaced knowing full well what the answer was to be, it couldn’t be any other; not in this situation.

“Unfortunately yes, the system isn’t designed to properly compensate for something like a major disaster. If we had done it, yes, it would have been completely different. At this moment we can only work with what we have now; which isn’t much.”

Ti pondered her future since it seemed it was in her hands now. No, change that, technology’s hand. “Ok, let’s go back to what you told me first: if nothing is done, other than you putting in my new heart for instance. Leaving alone what robots are there and adding a few to what I already have now in my system, how long can I expect to live?” It was a fair question.

They looked at each other, “To do what you say would give you a few years at best. The most I could guess is two to five, without a major incident.”

“Then things would start to go haywire again…like now.” Ti sighed.

Tolare tried to give Ti as much information as she could so she could make the right decision. “As you are resting, the machines are working diligently. Already I have seen that they are taking advantage of the situation and repairing themselves.”

“That is good.” Ti smiled at least something was being done.

Shearah was quick to point out something else, “Yes for the moment Alien Ti but as I said your body requires far more maintenance than these machines can do. As time goes on your body would again fail and could wind up in a far worse condition than it is now.”

Ti didn’t like the sound of that, “Then I have some thinking to do.”

“We’ll leave you to rest and to allow you to think about what we have told you.” Tolare put the bed back to a reclining but very comfortable position then left Ti to think about what was to be done. Tolare felt it was time to look at the other genetic creations and to see what could be done for them.

Ti let her mind drift; to live a short life or to live a very long one. What of her friends? Martha, Jonathan, …Richard…it wasn’t fair. Her mind felt cloudy, maybe it was the bed, it might have figured her system out for she felt really sleepy. Exhausted and unable to think rationally anymore her mind shut down; tomorrow would be another day.





Elsewhere on the station:

Endora entered into the girl’s room in the morning to explain some things. The clone/paradox thing would come later. This was about her going away and she knew there were going to be objections.

“Hi Mom”, Sabrina said as she kissed her mother on the cheek.

“Hi dear, I need to talk to you girls about what’s going to happen here soon.”

The girls all gathered round and Endora explained her plans to them; they argued that they should go and she forcibly said no. They were going to stay here with the aliens and Warren until they returned with or without Swallow.

“But Mom, you’re putting your life in danger, let the aliens get Swallow back!!!” Sabrina voiced.

“No, where I’m going they will need some help getting around and only I can help them with that.”

“Mom!!!”

“No Sabrina, you and the girls are staying here and that’s final!!!” She didn’t like saying no to them but this was going to be a dangerous mission, one that could alter everything they or she knew.



Another part of the Station:

Tolare did the medical scans on the four footed one; she adjusted many things trying to figure out what happened to this creature’s brain. Shearah was much better in this field than she was and finally relented to call her in to look. She came to an interesting conclusion about this creature, one that should help improve this creature’s life a thousand fold; although at considerable risk to the creature itself.

A meeting was in order so that they could explain to the family what they could do for the four legged creature.

Hector and Heather’s parents arrived a short time after one of the aliens requested to follow her. They knew this had to be about Heather. Hector still towered over them; he felt like a giant and had to be careful he didn’t hurt one of these creatures by accident. They all exchanged greeting and took a seat at a big round table with Tolare and Shearah on one side.

“We have done initial scans on your offspring, the Alien Heather; I apologize this may take some time to explain.” Tolare said.

“It doesn’t matter how long we are here, all I we want to know is...can you help Heather?” They pleaded in unison; at this moment Hector’s only thought and concern was for her.
“Our medical science is nothing compared to yours.” Nancy said quietly, “I believe you are her only hope.” She clutched Sid’s paw tightly hoping for the right answer.

They both smiled, which worried Hector for a moment; he still wasn’t so sure about these Alien creatures. “We believe we can but the risks are great. It is extensive what we have to repair; you understand.”

“We thought it might.” Sid answered, “The brain is a complex organ.”

Tolare cleared her throat, “Well, that isn’t really the hard part, it’s these.” She put up a display, to show something that looked like a tadpole. “This is a micro machine that is within your offspring’s body; it repairs her cells and keeps her going. The creature that created her altered her cells radically and that is where the main problem lies.”

They didn’t quite understand, so Tolare explained about the repair machines and how Heather’s biology was now mostly made up of tiny machines. In order to help Heather they were going to have to do a radical procedure on her, one that could kill her.

The plan was to destroy all the old repairing machines, wipe them out. This would give them a clean slate to put a new colony within her. Though during the time of the invasion Heather’s life would hang in the balance, the system could catastrophically fail and she would die. There would be no way of saving her at that point.

However if successful they would be able to give Heather a vastly improved life than she has ever known.

Hector fidgeted in his chair, it was very uncomfortable for his size, even though these aliens said they could help Heather he didn’t want them to harm her any further. “Are you positive that if this procedure works that it won’t cause her anymore suffering? She has been through a lot all ready; I don’t think she could take any more.”

Shearah spoke, “Alien Hector, if we left your mate the way she is, her condition would not improve much. In time she would regain consciousness; that we are sure of. The machines would eventually repair that part of her brain that would bring her to a conscious state but she would never be able to walk again. That part of her brain is damaged too much for even them to repair. We have observed that her brain was designed to function with a bipedal body; not one with four legs. It is one of the reasons she had so many problems in walking. It put considerable stress on her and in turn caused her stroke.”

“You say you can fix this?” Nancy said out of turn…interrupting Shearah.

“If we go ahead with this procedure, it will take quite awhile for our army –so to speak- to do its job. We would have done this procedure with the other alien known as Ti but she is far too weak and her body would not survive the destruction of the repair machines. Heather is not in the same condition, her body is strong. We believe that she has a much better chance of survival with this than anything else we can think of.”

“So Ti is like this, are all the clones?” Hector said in surprise.

“No, not all; one other is like this, the one that is missing.”

They all looked at themselves for they knew who that was.



Elsewhere in Kalen Space:

Endora couldn’t help being scared, who wouldn’t be? She knew where she was going and things could go horribly wrong. Her future depended on what happened in the next few days. No, that wasn’t right; everyone’s future was in jeopardy if this wasn’t fixed. Afain, Kira and the strange alien Lyja all accompanied her. It was going to be indeed an interesting mission.

The alien known as Afain came and sat by her, she was quiet for a bit then began to speak. “You are worried about your friends?”

“Yes…I’m not sure about all this, what we are doing doesn’t seem possible.”

“Yes, it is all different for us as well, we did not mean – I mean our species- didn’t mean to cause so many problems to you and your family.”

“I know your kind didn’t, you seem to only have good intentions. Like now, trying to fix what went wrong so long ago.”

“Much of our history has been lost; our past is filled with wars and destruction. We are only now learning about ourselves and our past. This is only a small part of what lies ahead of us; the future for us is unwritten.”

“It sounds wonderful, your race seems to have it all, where we are still struggling to get along with each other.”

“Give it time; it has taken us generations to learn simple lessons.” She smiled, “I was told you too are expecting hatchlings.”

“Yes I am, although I hope it goes better than my last, I wasn’t very well the last time I carried.”

Afain smiled, “These are my first but they are giving me all sorts of problems.”

Endora frowned, “Sorry to hear that, sometimes it happens that way. In the end they are blessings, although not at every moment of the day.”

“I understand what you mean, I have discussed the raising of hatchlings with others and it can become quite trying at moments from what they have said. I’ve seen little ones but never saw myself having any.”

“No mother ever does Afain; I can tell you that; it just sort of happens. I’m sure you’ll be a great mother.”

“Thank you, I also came by to tell you that we are close to your system again and will be picking up Cleo soon. It seems it has all the data we need for our Star Jump.”

To minimize the risk of anyone being affected by the star jump they put themselves into stasis allowing the onboard computers to do the jump. Endora didn’t trust machines all that much, now it seems their lives depended solely on them.

Later:

She awoke groggily from her encasement to see Afain’s furry face, “Good; alien Endora you are awake, how do you feel?”

Her head hurt, “A bit disoriented…I just got in here…didn’t I…?”

“No many days have gone by, the ship has stabilized and we are on the far reaches of your solar system.”

“We are but…?”

“I know it didn’t seem like a long time but it was. Now it is time to gather ourselves for we have work to do.”

Lyja had figured that she would have to remain in the background of all this and made it apparent to the others. They would have to act like she wasn’t there. While the others talked Lyja had constructed a new weapon.
“I can only assume that she will have shields built to withstand much of what Cleo will be able to throw at her, but she won’t expect this.”
She held up a very small tube, it really didn’t look like much of a weapon. “It’s a low velocity projectile weapon, the shields should not detect it as a threat but if it connects it should put her to sleep quickly. The idea will be to distract her; Cleo will have to engage her to do this. I’ve been going over the weapons that Cleo has at its disposal; I am impressed.”

Briefing room:

Endora watched a screen as a cloaked probe floated over her home town taking breath taking video shots; it was eerie to say the least. Everything was out of date; in fact at this point in time she hadn’t been born yet. The town looked almost foreign to her but a few landmarks still stood out.
“That is some probe; I can see everyone’s faces.” Endora whistled.

“Yes it is.” Lyja said, “More advanced than what I have worked on in the past.”

“I have an idea, can the shuttle land on a building?”

“Yes, we can disperse the weight to allow that.”

“Good, then move the probe, over to the right.” They did and Endora picked out a rather tall but plain looking building. “That’s the local hospital, the buildings are used for shelters in case of emergency and are build a little tougher than most. I think that should do.”

“Yes, scans report it is indeed stronger than the buildings around it. A good choice Alien Endora.”

“Thanks.” At least so far she was helping she thought. Now all they had to do is find out about her mother and there was only one place for that.

They waited for the cover of darkness to land then released a smaller transport vehicle; it was very much like the platform device Afain used to get around the station with. Lyja rigged it with a cloaking device and they took their time trying not to disturb anything or alter anyone’s course. They finally came up the street that Endora knew so well, she remembered biking up and down it hundreds of times to the local store, which she saw as they passed it by.

A lump grew in her throat; the most recent memories of her father were of a frail old fur. His black fur turned totally grey, but this would not be the case. This would be a younger…a much younger version of her father than she ever would have remembered. She didn’t know if she could do this. She was frightened and this whole thing shook her to the core.

Then she remembered Warren’s face and the confidence he had in her and she gained strength through him. She could do this, she knew she could, for Warren and everyone else; paradox or not. The sled came to a stop behind some heavy bushes across from the house and materialized seemingly from thin air.

Endora stepped off the sled before any of the others could move, “Stay here, this I have to do alone. I’ll motion for you to come over when I’ve made things clear to him. It might take a few moments.”
Afain and Kira nodded, Lyja was nowhere to be seen as she said she would be.

Endora walked up the steps to a home she knew all too well. As normal, the third step creaked. It was never fixed the many years she had grown up here. She knew she had to be strong, in this time her father had just bought this home. Time travel; this hurt her brain. Her paw shook as she touched the doorbell. The chime sounded inside the home and she waited with anticipation for the one person she knew would answer.

The door opened and there he stood, young and full of life; his fur again black and shiny. He was different but she expected that, now to see if she could get her mouth to work.

“Hello Miss…ah can I help you?” He said in a soft voice; she knew it well but hadn’t heard in a long time and she found she missed it.

“Mr. Victor Frost?” That was his name, she almost forgot it; he was Daddy all the time to her.

“Yes I’m Victor Frost; can I be of help Miss…?”

“Mrs. Endora Frost.” She used her maiden name to break the ice so to speak. This was going to be difficult to explain.

He looked stunned, “I don’t understand.” She was quite attractive, this skunk, older than he was that was sure but none the less a looker.

“I know this comes as a shock to you but…I’m your daughter…from the future…I…”

She didn’t get to finish, “Listen Miss. whoever you are…this is not proper for a lady such as yourself, I think you should leave.”

“I am who I say I am.” She said sternly and not wavering in tone. He began retreating into the house and slowly closing the door.

“I don’t care, I think you should leave or I will call the police…I mean it!” Unfortunately it seemed this femme was off her rocker.

“Then explain how I know about Kathy and,” here was her ace “Albert Flood, a childhood friend of yours.” The door stopped moving and he again stepped out to look at her.

“How do you know about Albert? No one knows about him, not even…Kathy.” His words slipped into silence.

She decided to explain, “One day, I’m not exactly sure which day it was; I was about 6 or 7 at the time you were sad and crying. Mom had gone out at the time and you sat me on your lap and explained how Albert Flood saved you from drowning when you were both teenagers, then as he got out of the cold water his heart failed and he died. You felt horrible for years after, he was hero but you lost your best friend in the process.” She hated to bring up that story but he never talked about Albert to anyone, she had to make sure she knew something to tell him that he knew no one else knew about.

When she finished he looked her up and down, “No one knew about that!” He exclaimed.

“I know, that’s why I told it to you to try and convince you of who I really am.”

“That you’re my daughter from some time in the future?”

“Yes.” She kept a straight face. “I have others here; they are hiding in the bushes over there.” She pointed, “They are the ones who brought me here.”

“Ok… say for a moment I believe you…why are you here?”

“We came to see about Kathy, my mother. Is she in the hospital yet?”

He stumbled back and she grabbed him, “How do you know that, they only found her the other day?”

“Yes, by a stream, naked.”

His eyes widened, “No one knew that! That was kept quiet.”

“I do. Please, the longer I stay out here the more I jeopardize my mission here.”

He didn’t know what to do but she knew things no one knew, in the end he relented and Endora signaled for Afain and Kira to come. Victor was amazed he had never seen creatures like them before anywhere. Maybe she was telling the truth.

“We must hide the platform Endora, someone could trip over it.” Kira said.

“Yes, Mr. Frost can we put a transportation device in your shed?” Endora asked.

“Ah…sure let me get my key to open the lock.”

Kira ran and got the device, and floated across the road cloaked. “I am here open the doors.”

Victor was surprised to hear the voice coming from seemingly nowhere in particular but opened the door anyway. Then he watched in amazement as the green furred creature suddenly appeared as if from nowhere in the shed.

“I will keep the device cloaked so no one will see it even if they look in the window.”

“May I see it for a moment?” He was curious.

“Yes.” Kira said something out loud that Victor didn’t understand but immediately after a platform appeared in his shed. It wasn’t very big but it was floating off the floor, something that wasn’t possible.

“Oh my.” He exclaimed.

“Have you seen enough?”

“Yes.” The green creature said something else and the platform disappeared again.

“We must go.” Kira said.

Victor nodded and locked the doors to the shed and preceded back into the house, he had a million and one questions.

Victor came back in to see Endora and the other creature just casually talking.
“The platform is safe.” Kira said.

“Good.” Endora said and was about to ask about Lyja but decided it was best not too. “Victor is there somewhere my friends can rest; your questions are for me most probably.”

“Yes there is a guest room, come let me show you.” The two Zargozians followed Victor; the house was exactly the same as she remembered it; except she never remembered the living room being a pale green. Victor returned in short order.

“They are nothing like I have ever seen before.”

“Like no one has seen before, they are not of this planet. Not even from our universe actually.”

Again Victor’s eyes went wide, “They are aliens?!!”

“Yes…but I assure you they mean you no harm.” Endora sat on the couch for she was a bit tired from standing so long.

Victor wanted to run but he had so many questions. “You say you are my daughter?”

“Yes.” Endora expected the worst, what was sad was that she would probably not be able to answer most of his questions.

“Why are you here?”

“To catch the creature that put Mother…err…Kathy in the hospital.”

“Then you know exactly what happened to her?” He glared at Endora.

She gulped, she knew that ‘look’, she got it every time she got in trouble, “Yes I do, but if I tell you…you can never tell anyone, especially her, what you know.”

He nodded and she explained what she thought he needed to know to understand. It took awhile but finally he was aware of most things.
“So this Mother creature is still here somewhere?”

“Yes…we need to be close enough to scan for the hidden ship. We believe she isn’t too far from the stream, there are several clearings near there and that is where we think the ship is.”

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 11:01 pm    Post subject: Part 2 Reply with quote

“This must be very hard for you…if you really are my daughter.” He still had a few doubts lingering about.

“It is, and very strange, because I don’t remember this …I’m not born yet.”

“Yes, that is indeed the strange part.”

“And I suppose you cannot tell me much of what happens in my…our life to come.”

“No, I’m afraid I cannot.”

“Aren’t you afraid that you being here has changed things?”

“Yes I am afraid but what is happening now shouldn’t be happening at all! So who am I to know what the universe has in store for me.”

“Heh…I guess your right.”

“Can I ask a few questions…?”

“I may not answer them.”

“Fair enough.” Victor shifted in his seat as he stared at the middle aged skunk. “Am I alive in your time?”

“No.”

He blinked, he wasn’t sure he’d get an answer to that one. “And Kathy?”

A tear flowed down Endora’s cheek, “No.”

At that point he got up and he stopped his questioning and sat beside her. “I am sorry I upset you, I didn’t mean to.”

Endora choked out an answer, “It’s ok…you didn’t know.” The tears kept coming and Endora tried and tried to stop them but it was futile. Victor offered her his handkerchief.

“Here wipe your eyes.”

She looked into the eyes she knew well, she missed them so much. “Would you do me one favor?”

Victor wasn’t sure what he could do for a skunk of the future, “If I can.”

“Hold me.”

He put his arms around her and Endora began to cry. She couldn’t stop; it was like a wave of emotions flowing over her and all Victor could do was to try and gently calm her.



The Next Morning:


Endora awoke to the sweet smell of bacon, toast and coffee. It looks like she fell right asleep on the couch, she felt much better but a little embarrassed. She would have to apologize.
She found her way to the kitchen to find Kira and Afain at the table eating toast, with her father cooking up a storm.

“You two are up early.” She commented.

“We were thoroughly rested, this is a peaceful place.” Afain said.

“Yes it is, it’s a quiet street.” Victor said, “Thought I’d make breakfast, I’m sure you’d like some.”

“Yes it would be wonderful, I can help if you’d like.” Endora smiled.

“No, no…had to fix stuff for my self for a long time before Kathy came along, now is no different.”

“Victor about last night…I…”

He turned and looked at her sincerely, “No need to apologize Endora…I understand.”

“Thank you.”

“Now let’s have some breakfast then figure out how we’re going to get you to that field.”

Afain and Kira…left Victor and Endora alone and went to listen to the radio that Endora’s father had playing in the living area. They understood that Endora wanted as much time with her father as she could.

“This was wonderful thank you.”

“It was nothing; you know you do look a lot like your mother.”

Endora chuckled now that was a wild observation for she really didn’t. “Thank you, but I’ve got your stubbornness for things, I can tell you.”

“Oh…I’m not stubborn.”

“I’ll ask Mom, she’ll put you in your place.”

“So, what about her? You think you’re up to seeing her, last night did you in, sort of.”

“You believe me then?”

He shook his head, “I slept on it and…yes I do…I don’t know how it can be, but I believe you Endora. It seems so implausible but with that fancy gizmo outside and your knowledge of me and Kathy it has to be true.”

“Thank you for trusting me.”

“You’re welcome; it’s as much as I can do…I’m just so angry at myself. I’ve been mad at the wrong person. I was just so upset that someone would be so depraved as to harm her.”

“The creature that did this to Mom is out of her mind Victor, that is why we must stop her. You can’t blame yourself, there is time to make amends now since you have seen the future.” Endora smiled.

“I know that now, do you really feel up to seeing her.”

“I don’t know, I…”

“You’ve come a long way just to see me.”

Endora sighed, “What are we going to tell her?”

“That you’re a friend of mine from a time back, an old school friend and that you looked me up when you were passing through.”

“Sounds good, call me…Amy.”

“Ok, Amy then we’ll catch the bus and head off to the hospital. Ah…what about your friends?”

“I’ll explain to them where we are going. Don’t worry they’ll be ok.”

The bus ride was uneventful but just being with her father was something she would treasure. The hospital was another thing, as they came up to the door Endora stopped dead.
“Endora?”

“I don’t know if I can do this.”

“I can understand but I think for your own peace of mind you should see her. I won’t force you,” he said as he opened the door and walked in.

She drew in a deep breath and took off after him.

Endora remembered back to her younger days; her relationship with her mother had its times. For the most part it was a healthy one, with arguments here and there like with most mothers and daughters. Her mother had been fair, strict at times but not overly protective. That particular point lead to many an argument. She sighed; there was nothing she could do about that part of her life now; for that was all to come.

Kathy, it seemed, was in ward care with lots of other furs with broken legs and other ailments. She couldn’t see her in the multitude of beds in the ward even though she was searching for any sign of her fur pattern. She had an all white fur face, which turned to black about half way back. Overall she was mostly black. Endora pondered on how she got so much percentage of white fur, it was a mystery. The more she thought about this paradox the more her head hurt.

She kept on telling herself; enjoy this…it was so hard to overcome all the other problems ahead of her. The nurses had drawn the curtains around her mother’s bed for a semblance of privacy. As Victor drew back the curtain, Endora’s stomach flipped; she put her paw to her muzzle praying that she didn’t vomit all over the floor.

To Victor’s surprise Kathy wasn’t there, he didn’t panic though. He had been here before when she wasn’t in her bed; seemed they would have to wait a bit. “Kathy isn’t here at the moment.” Victor said to a pale Endora…his eyes went wide. “Quickly, sit on the bed.” He pushed the curtain aside and sat Endora down. “You’re not well.”

“I’m ok.”

“Oh no you’re not, you’re sick…I can see that plain as day.” He grabbed a nearby bedpan. “Use this if you have to, it might make you feel better.”

“Thank you…oh I feel so silly…I’m a grown adult, I shouldn’t be this nervous.”

“Considering the situation, I’d probably be doing the same thing.”

Endora took slow breaths and slowly her stomach settled, that was until she saw her mother being pushed towards them in a wheel chair; then she promptly threw up.

The nurse parked Mrs. Frost and moved around to see if she could help Endora.

“Victor…?” Kathy asked.

Victor bent down and kissed his wife on the muzzle, “Hi love, it’s nice to see you up. I brought someone for you to meet; although she is a bit under the weather, it seems at the moment.”

The nurse looked Endora over, “I think Dr. Hastings should look you over just in case.” the lynx nurse left to find the doctor on duty.

“Kathy this is Amy, she’s a friend from school. She was passing through and stopped by, I thought it might be a change for you to meet her but I didn’t know she was this unwell.”

“It’s ok Vic.” Kathy got up and sat on the bed with Endora.

“I know all about the stomach cramps Miss Amy.” She saw that Endora’s paws were having difficulty holding onto the pan, so she gently repositioned it for her.

“I’m sorry for making a nuisance of myself; I’m so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be…things like this happen. At least you’re in the right place for being sick.”

Endora’s stomach turned once again and promptly vomited again, this time Kathy helped hold the bedpan. Endora moaned, as Kathy gently rubbed her back. In Endora’s mind this brought back memories of when she was little, of herself being sick and her mother being there for her. It was a pleasant memory, well somewhat pleasant she still remembered being sick too.
“Thank you.” Endora said softly.

“You’re welcome.”

Endora couldn’t resist, “You must have children.”

Kathy eyes opened wide, not yet but I will it seems.”

“So you’re pregn… with child too?” Endora quickly corrected when she remembered the word ‘pregnant’ was taboo until the seventies.

“It seems so. I see you are starting a family too.” She didn’t want to say that she looked far older for a mother to be, really.

“Well ...yes I’m having twins although they were little accidents I’m afraid. But my mate has been totally understanding about it, we will make do. We have to, it seems.”

Kathy didn’t say anything much after that and quickly changed the subject. Endora remembered that Victor had not been too pleased at her pregnancy announcement.

The nurse came back with another person, a doctor Endora surmised. The male gopher looked into her eyes and took her temperature.

“A little high, but not too far out of normal for a pregnant skunk. How are you feeling now?”

Endora choked, “A bit better now that my stomach is empty.”

“Yes sometimes that does help. I have something for that.” He pulled a hypodermic needle out of his pocket and tried to administer it to her. “Something to calm that stomach.”

“Thank you doctor but I must insist on not getting any medication, I’m expecting and I’m worried about them. Sorry to have caused a stir.” The last thing she or her babies needed was some 1940’s drug given by someone whose medical knowledge was also from the 1940’s. Images of Thalidomide babies almost caused her to heave again.

“Nonsense…you picked the best place to have…your little episode. I understand about the injection although it is perfectly safe. Now the bed here next to Kathy is vacant, I’d like you to lie here for a bit. Just until you feel better, all right?” The doctor picked up a clipboard and left.

Endora nodded as they helped her to the bed, the nurse fluffed some pillows and got her sitting up right. “Ok, how are you feeling?” The nurse asked.

“Ok…a little less embarrassed.”

“Well that’s good…I’ll be back in a bit to see how you’re doing.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now just relax .”

Endora was alone, well not for long Victor and Kathy walked over and joined her at her bedside. “Funny we came to see you and here you are seeing me.” Endora said weakly.

“Nonsense…,” Kathy smiled, “Made my day, it’s not everyday I get visitors.”

Victor took point and gave Kathy a run down on who Amy was and how long he had known her; he did pretty well considering all of it was bogus information. Endora just sat back and watched two very young versions of people she spent her life with and loved very much. The questions were light and where Endora began to stumble, Victor was quick to fill in. All in all it was a very pleasant time and to Endora’s relief her stomach settled down.

At the very end Endora almost cried but she held it in until she got out of bed and left the room. Victor had said he wanted a few moments alone with Kathy if she didn’t mind; Endora didn’t have a problem with that; they were, after all, her parents.

As they walked to the bus depot Victor was curious, “Was she like you thought?”

“Yes…Dad…she was.” Her voice choked on the last bit.

“I’m sorry this is so hard on you.”

“At least you know the truth; I see she was glad to see you.”

“Oh, yes, we patched things up…things will be a lot smoother now. Your being here has helped me see things a little clearer.”


Endora knew her parent’s lives had its ups and downs along the way but that was something she couldn’t reveal.

“So, tonight you’ll go to find this creature?” He wanted this creature himself so he could beat it to a small pulp, it had hurt Kathy in such ways that time would never heal the wounds.

“Yes, the longer we stay here the more likely it is that we will change something.”

“Endora…I am glad I had an opportunity to meet you.”

“You will again…in a little while.” She put her paw in his, just like old times she thought; although she was looking up at him most of the time then.

He looked shocked then remembered, “Oh yes…I forgot.” He rubbed his neck in sort of embarrassment.

“It’s a strange situation, don’t feel out of sorts.”

“You know, there is a lot of your mother in you, I can see it even now. We haven’t been married all that long but I see her in you.”

“Thanks, Mom is very special.”

“To both of us.”

They all ate dinner and prepared for the evening, they all hoped that things would go smoothly; it seems only time would tell.

End Of Chapter 21

Sinister Music : bum bum…buum!!!!


So… does Victor become a famous Sci Fi writer after this?

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 12:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yep, I bet he does, haha. Good chapter, nice Back To The Future feel to it although with more sinister overtones. Also, decisions decisions for Ti and Heather/Hector/Sid & Nancy - I'm looking forward to a happy ending on this one. Happy, do you hear me?! I am looking forward to the Mother hunt next chapter though, bring on the torches and pitchforks!
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 1:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very interesting and well written chapter. You don't make things easy on your characters and they have to cope as best they can - it makes for very good reading.
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mfwhite
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 02, 2004 1:36 am    Post subject: Coming Reply with quote

Quote:
Very interesting and well written chapter. You don't make things easy on your characters and they have to cope as best they can - it makes for very good reading.


Nope my characters have to have hootspa.....Smile

Makes them better.


Thanks for the compliments

23 went to mike tonight

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 02, 2004 2:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting...

Isn't Endora quite a bit older at that point than Victor? I'm just wondering if that would not make it sound a little strange about them knowing each other from school?

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 02, 2004 3:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes she was I believe it was even mentioned in the chapter and wondered myself about that but then maybe Endora is looking good for her age.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 02, 2004 3:34 am    Post subject: Ok.. Reply with quote

To judge a furs age to narrow it down would be difficult, Kathy would believe Victor in what he says and probably not question it again.

Since Endora was only passing through.

Now if she was staying with him.....it might be a different story and she would have questioned him more about it.

Wink

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