#oh and flight into egypt + across the border!
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Bruce Springsteen's eleventh album THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD as Penguin Classics (series): Rembrandt / Ary Scheffer / Henri Regnault / Jasper Johns / Camille Corot / Antonio Sequi / Jacques Louis David / Frank Webster / Andrew Wyeth / Henry Ossawa Tanner / Andrew Wyeth / Gyula Benczúr
#as always i ask 'am i overdoing it on the christ imagery?' 'no. it's the people that are wrong'#very pleased with my combo of come on pretty baby call my bluff + christ in the garden of gethsemane in particular <3#oh and flight into egypt + across the border!#im in my last inteview today you guys might not get any more of these (she is lying. she loves making pointless little images <3)#bruce springsteen#bruce springsteen penguin edits#the ghost of tom joad#penguin classics edits#album edits#Bruce Springsteen penguin classics
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Scott had a cat.
He had no idea how he had a cat. It just appeared one day under his pilot’s chair in One.
He had been returning from Egypt where he had had to locate and yank yet another lost tourist out of the Sahara. After dropping the dehydrated man off at the local hospital, he had quite gratefully plotted a flight plan for Tracy Island.
Halfway home he nearly fell out of his chair when something started chewing on his left boot.
The innocence in the green eyes looking up at him came across as anything but.
He would have returned it to Egypt, but Virgil found out about the spotted monstrosity before he could and would have killed him if he left it in the desert.
So, he had a cat.
And cats needed veterinary care.
So, this was how he found himself standing at the reception desk of a vet surgery in England. It was highly recommended by Penelope, apparently Sherbet approved.
Virgil had hounded him into it, of course. The big softy had been completely enamoured by the feral ball of fluff from the moment he laid eyes on her. Scott would have let him have the little varmit, but the cat - who was still simply called ‘The Cat’ despite his brother’s protests - had decided to sleep on his face every night, no matter how many locked doors lay between him and the feline.
Apparently, she was His Cat.
Gordon, of course, tried to lure her away with nibbles and treats...until she discovered his fish tanks and several of his prize pets went missing.
There was yelling after that.
Scott was forced to keep The Cat away from Gordon. There was mention of a cat skin hat and Scott was only half sure the aquanaut was kidding.
Virgil played with her and The Cat appeared to tolerate the engineer.
She hated Alan.
No-one knew why The Cat had such a dislike for the youngest Tracy. The moment she set eyes on him, it was all spiky fur fluffed out to make her appear twice her size, claws deployed, and hissing and snarling enough to melt the paintwork off the walls.
Suffice it to say that Alan was rarely in her presence.
But regardless of who liked The Cat, apparently, she was Scott’s and according to Virgil, that meant he had to look after her.
As he approached the reception desk, The Cat eyed him through the cat box Virgil had jimmied together. Green eyes challenged him.
But he had been challenged by green eyes before so he was used to it. His own eyes must have communicated something back, because she meowed at him.
Somewhat pitifully.
“Can I help you, sir?”
He glanced up, embarrassed to have been caught communing with the devil. The young nurse behind the counter smiled up at him. Her badge had the name Mia written on it. “Uh, hi. I have an appointment under the name ‘Tracy’.”
The nurse smiled at him again before turning to the computer and pulling up a file. “Yes, Mr Tracy. The vet will be ready for you shortly. Please take a seat.” She gestured to the waiting room.
Unfortunately, the room was half full...of both people and animals.
He nodded in her direction. “Thank you, ma’am.” And turned to face his fellow pet owners.
As with all waiting rooms several people looked up as he entered, cat cage in hand. He could see their assessments in their eyes. The woman on the right with a lap dog wrapped in a pink cardigan eyed The Cat with distaste. Probably because The Cat could inhale her dog by accident.
The older man two seats over smiled a toothless smile at Scott and patted the ferret sitting on his shoulder.
A little girl with her mother was holding a wire cage with a green budgerigar inside. The bird appeared to be having a nervous breakdown. Most likely caused by the St Bernard sitting next to it, eyeing it with a great deal of interest.
Scott found a spot between two empty chairs and folded himself into it. It wasn’t that he wasn’t a people person. Far from it, he enjoyed conversation and gatherings. It wasn’t that he wasn’t an animal person. He grew up on a farm, for crying out loud.
It was just…
Well…he hadn’t had any say in this and The Cat was bossing him around.
There. He admitted it.
He could hear Virgil laughing from here.
“That’s a pretty cat you’ve got yourself there.”
“Huh?” Oh, just classy, Mr Commander President Sir. “Oh, uh, yes, thank you.”
The woman smiled a set of glossy red lips at him, dipping her eyelashes just a little.
Scott blinked and a little heat headed both north and south as he realised that she was wearing little more than a jacket over a leopard print bikini.
And the view was…extensive.
“Have you had him long?”
“Her. No. This is our first visit.” As if to punctuate that statement The Cat hissed at the woman.
Surprisingly, she didn’t flinch or edge away. “Oh, you just have some spark, little one, don’t you.” And to Scott’s surprise, she dared to wave a finger within reach of The Cat.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
But long, pink nails slipped through the wire mesh and tickled The Cat under the chin.
The Cat, the little shit, started purring.
Until a reptilian head slid out from underneath the woman’s jacket and flicked its tongue at her.
The Cat let out a very undignified squawk and flung itself to the far side of its box and nearly tipped it off Scott’s lap. It was a fortunate accident that hid Scott’s reaction to the large snake now uncurling and extending its snout curiously in his direction.
“You have a snake.” Scott had a sudden and profound empathy for Gordon’s uncomfortable relationship with reptiles.
“Oh, that’s Jerry.” She patted the snake. “He’s feeling a bit off today. Aren’t you, sweetie? That’s why we’re here.” A wet, red kiss was dealt to the scales on the back of the snake’s head.
“He’s...uh...respectable.”
“Yes, he’s a big boy. Aren’t you, Jez. Such a big boy.” The woman was nuzzling the snake with her nose.
The snake did not appear impressed.
Scott did his best not to edge away from her. Fortunately, she was called in by the nurse a moment later.
Scott did not miss the amused smirk on the young nurse’s face.
Hmm, so snake lady was a regular who provided entertainment. Scott straightened in his seat.
The Cat chirped at him.
“You shut up.”
The Cat snickered. It could only be called that. He glared down at the box and the spotted menace gazed innocently back up at him before meowing.
This was all Virgil’s fault. “Should have dumped you in the desert.”
“Sir, how could you possibly consider that?! He’s adorable.” And again, Scott found his cat box the subject of attention via fingers, these ones with pink fingernails considerably shorter than the last set.
He looked up to find a middle-aged woman gazing adorably at The Cat. The difference this time was as she sat down, a cat box appeared on her lap too.
The Cat immediately became more interested and the eye lasers between the two boxes was almost physical.
“Uh, she’s a she.”
“And a beautiful girl, too. Just look at those spots. Did you go to Egypt for the breed? I hear they are very rare.”
Scott blinked. “Excuse me?” How did she know the cat was from Egypt? Lady Penelope had had to pull quite a few strings to get The Cat into England. Scott’s usual haunts of Australia and New Zealand took one look and gave him a firm ‘no’. One of the downsides of his sudden pet parenthood was the lack of a vet on their island. Crossing borders with an animal was a little bit different from crossing borders with a Thunderbird. Fortunately, Penelope had her ways and here he was.
But how was it obvious The Cat had come from Egypt?
“Oh, but she’s an Egyptian Mau, isn’t she? Those spots are absolutely gorgeous.”
Scott peered at The Cat. The smugness on the denizen of evil had to be a coincidence. But yes, she was a spotty cat. “Honestly, I’m not sure.”
“Really? My Dora is only a Russian Blue, but I adore her anyway. You should find out. You might have an expensive cat.” She frowned. “You didn’t get her from one of those black market types, did you?”
A blink. “Uh, no.”
“I should hope not. There are some people on this planet who do not deserve the honour of life.”
Scott didn’t comment on that.
“Mr Tracy?” Mia the nurse was smiling at him from across the room. “The Vet will see you now.”
Oh, thank god.
He stood up a little faster than necessary and the nurse raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay, sir?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.”
The Cat snorted.
How the hell did a cat snort? He restrained himself from a retort and followed the young woman from the room.
A corridor and a couple of doors later, she ushered him into an examination room. She pointed to a chair. Please take a seat. The vet will be in shortly.”
He did as he was told, sitting on one of two seats in the corner. At the centre sat a metal table obviously for examination.
The nurse set herself up at a computer station on the far side of the small room. He did not fail to notice that she kept eyeing him from time to time.
He was about to say something when a ball of bustling energy burst into the room. Short, compact with a craze of dark curls, the white coated woman hurried up to him. “Mr Tracy, oh my god, it is such a privilege to meet you!” She grabbed his hand before he was even halfway out of his seat. Oh god, a fan.
“Nice to meet you, Doctor…?”
“Oh, I’m Dr Sal Virgilio.” She gazed up at him in only what could be called adoration before apparently snapping herself out of it and diverting to the cat box. “And who do we have today?”
Scott blinked at her name. “Uh, my cat needs a check-up.” He held the box so the small woman could see inside.
The hiss that erupted from its depths wasn’t encouraging.
“Well, you are a spritely one. Let’s get you out on the examination table.” She looked up at him. “What’s the name?”
“Scott.”
She grinned. “The cat’s name, Mr Tracy.”
“Oh, um, Cat?”
The woman had brown eyes very similar to Virgil’s and they seemed to sprout a similar exasperation to his brother’s. To the nurse across the room. “Mia, open a file for Cat Tracy.”
Scott lifted the cat box onto the examination table as directed and cautiously opened the door.
The Cat peered out at him for a moment before stalking out slowly and regally, green eyes taking in the entire room before latching onto the vet.
Laser eyes zapped the poor woman dead where she stood.
But apparently, the vet was used to that kind of weapon because she ignored it. “Okay, little one, let’s check you out.”
The meow The Cat let out could only be described as a threat.
“Really?”
Scott found himself with a gentle hand on The Cat’s back, her fur soft under his fingers as her body twitched. “Uh, she can be touchy.” He hoped he didn’t have to save the vet from his own cat.
“That’s okay, we just need to get to know each other a little better.”
She took a step back and held out a hand, murmuring soft words. The Cat continued to eye her as a threat, but her twitching stilled somewhat.
The vet waited for The Cat to respond.
She waited a while.
A long while.
But eventually, The Cat leant over to sniff her fingers. The vet smiled. “That’s right, honey.”
The Cat opened her mouth and bit the closest finger.
Dr Virgilio jumped back with a squawk. The Cat growled and every hair on her body stuck out at right angles.
“Oi! Stop that!” It was Scott’s turn to growl.
She turned her head and glared up at him. Her entire body dared him to follow through and try to stop her.
His hand was still on her back, so he began stroking hair down. “The doctor is just here to help you.”
Said doctor was rifling through medical supplies looking for a plaster.
“It’s okay, Mr Tracy. Some pets can be difficult during examination.” She swabbed her finger with alcohol and wrapped it up. “She just needs time to acclimate.”
“Can I try?” The nurse on the other side of the room actually had her hand up.
“Sure, Mia. Have at it.”
Mia smiled at Scott again. That smile bugged Scott. It was like she knew something he didn’t.
And apparently she did, because one minute later, she had The Cat purring under her touch. “You are a beautiful girl, aren’t you.” Fingers rubbed The Cat under her chin and she closed her eyes in pleasure.
Scott just stared. Virgil was the only other person to have managed that. She was Scott’s cat, but she was very clear with her boundaries as to what he was allowed to do with her.
Dr Virgilio frowned. “Well, Mia, I think this one is yours. She appears to accept you.”
The Cat hissed at the vet.
“Hey, lovely, that’s just Sal. She’s a teddy bear, don’t you worry.”
The Cat glared up Mia in challenge before snarling at Sal again.
The vet just shrugged. “She knows who she likes. Mia, start a general exam while I fire up the scanner.”
“Yes, Dr Virgilio.”
It was weird hearing that name used on someone else. ‘Virgil’ wasn’t that common. It rarely happened that they came across someone with the same name, and this was only a surname.
Still weird.
The Cat eyed Mia as she began methodically checking her over starting from her nose and working over her body in the direction of her tail. The nurse continued to mutter nonsense comfort words, interspersed with medical reportage to the doctor fiddling with settings on a scanner built into the table top.
Scott recognised the equipment, having used similar in their infirmary, but this one was likely the reverse of why Virgil claimed he couldn’t play vet with their equipment. Sure, his brother had checked The Cat over, even read up on medical procedure for cats, but he had made it very clear he was not a vet.
“She looks healthy, Mr Tracy. Good coat, good muscle tone. Ooh, we have one chipped claw.” The nurse peeled back the fur between The Cat’s left front foot. The tip of one claw could be clearly seen to be missing.
Scott frowned. “How could that have happened?”
Dr Virgilio leaned over to look and The Cat snarled, backing away into Scott.
“Hold still, lovely.” Mia held onto her paw. “Looks to be an old injury.” The nurse looked up at Scott. “You don’t remember this happening?”
“I’ve only had her a short time.” Though it felt much longer.
“Well, it appears to have healed well. Just keep an eye on it.” Dr Virgilio was keeping her distance and attempting to eye the issue at hand.
The Issue at Hand glared at her and snarled.
“Stop that!”
To Scott’s surprise, The Cat actually jumped before turning to look up at him, her eyes narrow.
“Come now, lovely, let’s finish this exam. Then you can snuggle up in your Dad’s lap.”
It was Scott’s turn to be startled. It wasn’t the first time he had been referred to as a parent. Hell, he’d given up correcting Alan’s friends when they were younger. But it had been a while and ‘dad’ would always be a trigger word.
The Cat looked at him again, but this time there was no challenge, just puzzlement.
What was The Cat thinking? She was harder to understand than Alan on a sugar high. Harder than Virgil lost in engineerese or Gordon babbling about fish.
Even harder than John coming home from school and refusing to talk.
The closest comparison was Kayo glaring at him in anger, black eye and all, that time she had gotten into a fight at school defending Alan. It had taken Scott a long time to realise that Kayo used anger as a defence when in truth she was terrified, be it for herself or another.
They both had green eyes.
Great, his sister was a cat.
Nurse Mia finished up the exam while he sat pondering the concepts of pet parenthood versus caring for his family.
The Cat continued to glance up at him and poke at his soul.
She only swiped at the vet one more time and Scott caught her paw. “No, Cat.”
She glared at him, but the paw in his hand relaxed and he let it go.
“She definitely has a connection with you, Mr Tracy. How long have you had her?” The vet frowned up at him.
“Er, a couple of weeks.”
“How are you managing to care for her around your occupation?”
He straightened. “My occupation?”
“You are Scott Tracy, Commander of International Rescue, President of Tracy Industries, are you not? I’m thinking your time is at a premium.”
“We operate as a family, Dr Virgilio. There is always someone available to care for all family members.” Okay, so he had just declared the spawn of evil a family member, but then Alan and Gordon were part of the same family so it was nothing new.
And besides, The Cat tolerated Grandma almost as much as she did Virgil. It was a wise move. Grandma couldn’t burn cat food, after all, and she was often the only one available to feed her.
The vet switched on the scanner and The Cat jumped again as a hologram appeared above her head. The hologram immediately became the enemy and The Cat attacked. Fortunately or unfortunately, the hologram moved as she did, so each time she reached up, so did the hologram.
Mia the nurse was glared at as she tried to hold her still. “C’mon, lovely, you are doing so well.”
The Cat merrowed in protest.
“Yes, well, it has to be done to make sure you are well.”
Dr Virgilio was eyeing the read outs. “She looks well. Body systems appear healthy. She is an entire female, so you will have to consider sterilisation.” She ran her fingers over the controls and the hologram changed, shifting scan. She noted a few things.
Scott, more used to the human form, frowned at the display. It looked like he should be able to understand it, but couldn’t. Nothing was quite in the right place.
“She’s not microchipped. Are you aware of any vaccination history?”
Scott’s shoulders dropped just a little, shaking his head. “I have no knowledge of her medical history.”
“Then we will prep the full spectrum. Mia, could you prepare?”
“Yes, Sal.”
And Scott suddenly found his arms full of pissed off feline as Mia gently let her go. She climbed up his shirt and stabbed him with her claws through the thin material. Her face was suddenly in his and those green eyes pleading.
Time froze for a moment, his memory taking him back to a young Kayo so angry, so scared, clinging to her father’s pants as his Dad introduced her to him and his brothers.
The Cat had that same expression and his heart lurched. He found his arms around her. “It’s okay.” He drew her close.
“Mr Tracy, I have to warn you that she is unlikely to react well to the procedure.”
“Needles?” He sighed when she nodded. “I have four younger brothers, doctor. It won’t be the first time.”
Alan had been the hardest. He was responsible for his youngest brother at the age of eleven. There had been enough inoculations and blood tests to tackle that he had become experienced. Didn’t make it any easier to see his littlest brother hurting.
Gordon was a whole different kettle of fish. Gordon had already been to hell and back several times so needles were disregarded as nothing. At least that was what he wanted everyone else to believe. Scott knew better. Every medical procedure risked triggering unpleasant memories so all needles were treated warily.
John hid, but once persuaded, took it all stoically and logically and why would I neglect such an important medical procedure, Scott?
Ironically, it was Virgil who was the worst. For a man who literally practised medicine, the most pedantic in chasing up everyone else, the bear was a wuss when it came to needles.
Scott was the one who had to hunt him down and it often took Gordon’s muscles as well as his own to wrestle the man into a tetanus shot. Grandma frowned every time and shook her head. It was like the medic had two brains, one logical and the other manic.
Kayo, on the other hand, would walk up, roll up her sleeve and take the shot without a problem, and then spend the rest of the day in a foul mood. There had been both furniture and Tracy casualties in the past.
The Cat snuggled against his chest, the odd pitiful sound emitting against the cotton of his shirt.
As for himself, he had never been a fan of needles, but he was the eldest. He looked after himself.
The Virgil at the back of his head scoffed at that statement.
Shut up, you can’t talk.
So, yeah, needles, not a Tracy favourite. Cat Tracy would likely be no different. Gotta keep the family tradition.
Nurse Mia brought a tray over to the table. An array of hypodermics were laid out ready for use. Scott’s eyes widened at the size of one of them. He felt like asking why they were going to stick his cat with the prong of a pitchfork, but he was the Commander of International Rescue, he could do this.
Sorry, Cat.
It was like saying sorry to Virgil as he held him down and Grandma stabbed him in the arm.
Necessary evil.
There were a lot of those in his life.
“Did you want to hold her?” Dr Virgilio’s expression was understanding. When he nodded, she directed him to a chair. “It is likely she won’t react well. Try to keep her calm. I will try to be as gentle as possible.”
Scott found himself stroking The Cat and murmuring the same litany he might try for an injured child in the field.
She looked up at him, those green eyes again catching him in their depths.
He had no idea why she had attached to him. Other than the country involved, he had no idea how she had found him, how she had managed to get aboard his ‘bird – Brains was still trying to work it out; the best guess being that she had jumped onto the back of his chair as he retracted it back into One, but why was definitely still a mystery.
Mia reached in and snagged The Cat’s rear left leg. The vet swooped in before she could react and The Cat cried out. She struggled, claws digging again into his chest enough to cause him to grit his teeth. But again, the pair dove in, grabbed another leg and his heart hurt as she cried again.
He stroked her, muttering quietly.
The nurse held this leg a moment longer and the vet reached in with an empty hypodermic.
Scott clutched Cat to him as the Vet drew blood.
Cat was shaking.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to reassure, Cat or himself.
Fingers reached in and caught her scruff. A spray of something that smelt chemical and she flinched away, meowing.
He saw the needle coming and held her tight. It was huge! He fought the urge to back away himself.
“Nearly done, Mr Tracy.”
A hand touched his shoulder and his peripheral senses registered the nurse holding him still.
Cat cried out and drew blood through his shirt. This one took longer and Scott cringed.
Then it was over.
Cat continued to shake in his arms and, as the vet turned away and the nurse gathered the remains on the tray, Scott found himself clinging to The Cat as much as she was to him. His hand stroked her head gently, he was quietly muttering down to her.
His heart was beating a mile a minute.
The Commander of International Rescue he was not.
Stupid Cat.
He only held her tighter.
“Mr Tracy? Are you okay?”
He looked up at the nurse and realised he was rocking on the spot. “I’m fine.”
“She really trusts you.”
A blink. “Huh?”
“Cats usually try to escape. She is clinging to you.” She frowned at his shirt. “You should swab them with alcohol. Cat scratches can get nasty if not attended to.”
He looked down. There were specks of blood soaking through his shirt. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay, Mr Tracy. Her microchip is responding. I will email you a copy of what we have done today and send you her blood results when they come through. I’ll include her microchip details and who you need to contact should you change address. Keep an eye on the injection sites. Watch for any persistent swelling. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.”
He was still sitting with His Cat cradled in his arms.
He needed to move.
He rose to his feet and Cat responded by pulling out one set of claws and jabbing him in a new spot.
He didn’t care.
“Did you want to return her to her carrier?” The nurse was frowning up at him.
“No, no, she’s good where she is.” He didn’t want to let go.
“Are you sure? The waiting room contains dogs.”
Cat was curled up under his chin. “We’ll be fine.”
Nurse Mia stared at him a moment. “You will want to hold on to her tightly. We can’t be held responsible if she gets loose.”
Commander voice. “We’ll be fine.”
She held his gaze a moment longer. He had to give her credit for that. Most would have fled by now. She picked up the cat carrier and held open the door.
“Mr Tracy?”
He turned to find the tiny vet staring up at him. “You did good. I can see why you are so good at what you do.”
He blinked and cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
She smiled just a little. “Stay safe, Mr Tracy, and let us know if you need any help with Cat.”
Cat hissed in her direction.
“FAB.”
Her eyes widened and her smile spread.
Definitely a fan.
Despite everything, he found himself smiling in return.
Nurse Mia led him back to reception. He found a familiar figure leaning against the desk. Dressed in his usual casual red flannel, Virgil appeared to be having an energetic discussion with another nurse. The moment he caught sight of Scott, however, he straightened and narrowed in on his brother.
“Hey, you look beat.” His eyes tracked over bloodstains and Cat who was still curled up in his arms. “Aww, rough time.”
“Immunization.”
Virgil winced.
“Blood test.”
Virgil grimaced.
“Microchip.”
“Oh god, honey.” His hand hovered over Cat but didn’t quite touch her. “Well, I guess some treats are due tonight and a little pampering.”
“Could you grab my credit card.”
Virgil arched an eyebrow and reaching around,pulled Scott’s wallet out of his back pocket. “We talking the black one?”
“Yeah. Whatever it costs.” Nurse Mia’s eyes were bouncing between the two of them.
Scott stroked Cat’s head.
Virgil finished up the bill and grabbed the cat box. Scott wasn’t paying much attention. He found himself out the front of the vet surgery, Virgil loading the box into a Tracy fleet car.
“I have Two at the airfield.” He eyed Cat. “Want me to drive?”
Distracted, staring down at Cat who had finally stopped shaking and was now hesitantly peering out at the world around her. “Sure.”
There was an eyebrow raised at that. So, he was usually a control freak, big deal.
He climbed carefully into the passenger side of the car while Virgil hopped behind the steering wheel.
“So, I guess I have a new sister.”
“What?” Scott looked up as Virgil pulled the car away from the curb.
“You have that same expression when any of us are hurt. I’ve seen you hold Allie like that.”
Scott glared. “She’s a cat.”
Virgil shrugged. “Sure. But she’s also family.” It was said daring him to deny it.
His shoulders dropped and he looked down at the spotted furball in his arms.
Green, mischievous eyes peered back up at him.
Quietly. “Yeah, she is.”
-o-o-o-
FIN.
#thunderbirds are go#thunderbirds fanfiction#thunderbirds#Scott Tracy#Virgil Tracy#cat tracy#nuttyfic reblog
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Superstar
Also on AO3
For one quote/ one shot to be posted Oct 21st, my quote below;
“Listen,” he said at last, softly. “Do you hear?” At first I heard nothing but the rushing of the wind, and the trickle of rain, dripping through the holes of the roof. Then I heard it, the steady, slow thump of his heartbeat, pulsing against me, and mine against his, each matching each, in the rhythm of life.”
My thanks to @notevenjoking and @balfehueghlywed for organizing this one shot, I hope you like it.
Jamie walked through the house in silence. His sneakers touching the marble floor like a caress as he approached the front door with great anticipation. When the knob turned the massive front door opened with a quiet whoosh and closed with a respectful silence he promised to abide when he arrived from Scotland five months ago. The woman who owned the house and agreed to sponsor his junior year had one unbreakable rule, do not wake her in the morning. When the door was closed, Jamie’s smile could be seen in the next county. His forward flip off the top step was fueled by his exceptional muscle density, tender age of seventeen, buckets of testosterone, and pure joy. It was time to go bask to school.
Miss Abby was many things, a best selling author, sixty years a single woman, kind and interested in Jamie’s life and an exceptional cook. She provided a list of chores each week with a monetary value next to each. If Jamie needed money he could finish any or all of the chores and make enough to sustain his teenage life. Jamie would put a checkmark next to two or three of the chores and do the rest of the list without a mention. Miss Abby showed her gratitude with huge sumptuous meals that her athletic border consumed with gusto. At ten o’clock every night Miss Abby locked her study doors and worked all night.
Jamie jumped into his VW bug and shot toward school, his friends, his girlfriend, and the legendary coach John DiBiaso. It was the reason he was here playing for Catholic Memorial. Scouted as a sophomore in Scotland, he was doing his junior and senior year in Boston. He would be offered a full scholarship from any number of schools and then go pro. No one doubted it. He was that good.
Jamie was passing out smiles to all that wanted one today as he made his way into the building to drop his load of books. His friends gathered around him, joking and lying about getting laid over the holiday and telling stories about how drunk they got at this party or that. Jamie joked right back until his attention was pulled away by wild black curls, crazy gorgeous eyes, and a caboose that made his knees feel weak.
“Hey, who’s that girl?”
“Ye mean miss world-class ass or the other one?”
“Yer an idiot Sean, see you guys at practice.”
The day took control of his brain and the curly lass was forgotten. When a slim body dropped into a seat next to him at lunch he felt his body respond like a starving man.
“Where ye been lass? Been lookin for ye all morning. If ye don’t give me yer hot kisses soon I may die right here in this chair.”
Jamie leaned toward Geneva tickling her ear with his breath, making her squirm and run a hand down her hair to smooth anything he disrupted. She looked straight ahead as if he wasn’t there. Come lass, now.” Jamie dragged Geneva to the bleachers where they could kiss unobserved and he could grind into something she would never give. He walked into fifth period holding his jacket in front of him.
Claire was an even mixture of stark terror and excitement over going to a real school. She never anticipated so many students her age crammed into one building. No matter which hall she took it felt like she was fighting a wall of people who didn’t seem to notice her. By third period, she was exhausted. “Damn uncle Lamb, I told you Everest was a better school, certainly less crowded for Christ's sake.”
The only redeeming feature of this school was that giant boy in the hall this morning. He smiled at her and she shot down the hall feeling a bit dizzy. Five minutes later she met the second redeeming feature.
“Hey, luscious!” The boy leaned into Claire like he wanted to eat her, causing her to flinch and try to get away. Out of the crowd came a head of strawberry blond hair and a fist to the young man’s chest that stunned him long enough to get away. The girl grabbed Claire’s sleeve and pulled her out a side door.
Once outside, Claire turned her face to the sun, filled her lungs with fresh air, and opened her eyes to sparkling emeralds and a smiling face.
“I’m Geillis and you are a strange one aren’t ye.”
“What?”
When the bell rang Claire lurched forward apologizing to her new friend that she was late for testing. Claire launched herself back into the throng of students only to crash into an unexpected wall, hitting her head and bouncing backward. Warm hands caught her mid-flight.
“What the bloody hell…!” Her hand flew to her head as she looked up at a face that sucked the air out of her lungs and completely rebuilt her life goals in under a second.
“This collision is entirely yer fault lass, but yer British, so yer forgiven… Sassenach. Tell me yer name and I will pretend it never happened.” He smiled down at her and she saw the humor in his Hollywood handsome face. Claire struggled to regain her composure and remember what launched her into the hall in the first place. Still rubbing her head she looked up at his face again looking confused.
“I need to find the office sir can you point the right direction?”
“Sir? For that slip of the pretty tongue, ye get my company all the way there. Come, I will show ye.”
He grabbed her hand in the crowd of people and let it go when the hallway became passable. “Here is the office lass. Now, when ye see me next I expect a hi Jamie for my troubles.” He turned on his heel and jogged down the hall until he disappeared.
“Miss Beauchamp! We are delighted to have you here this semester. I know Lamb from college and promised to test you into the right school and grade. Shall we begin?” The guidance counselor looked down at the girl hoping this would not drag on all day. He was anxious to pawn her off on a lesser school where academic achievement was not expected or encouraged. He placed a test booklet in front of her with an answer sheet and a number two pencil. He wished her luck and quietly backed out the door. His first few strides felt like a temporary stay of execution by boredom. Too many parents and guardians had exaggerated the superior intellect of their children, and charges, over the years when the truth was an unremarkable, mediocre student who would never aspire to anything above the median. This girl spent the last five years in a remote location in Egypt, without running water or plumbing, and no schooling. That alone made her remarkable, as an oddity, but certainly not an academic superstar, which is the only interest he had in humans under thirty years old.
The heavy door to his office clicked shut and he exhaled his relief at being alone. He sat down and put his feet up wondering what he would order in for dinner tonight. Sometime later a sharp knock brought the counselor jerking awake from his nap. He pulled the door open to receive an answer sheet from his secretary. He looked at the clock and thought, impossible. When he looked down at the scores his face fell off, the jowls went slack, the mouth opened with a hanging lower lip, and he balled the sheet up and threw it in the trash.
“She obviously cheated, although I can’t imagine how. Oh, who cares, assign her to Park West and call them to expect a student tomorrow. What the devil is wrong with you?”
His secretary was anticipating a three-alarm academic emergency grab for this gifted student, instead, he dispatched her to a remedial high school where her brilliant mind would be stomped to death by a staff of teenage baby sitters who wouldn’t know gifted intellect if it slapped them across the face.
“No problem boss. I’ll take care of it.”
The door slammed behind her as the counselor went back to his nap.
June Dawe sat at her desk ruminating over the options of doing what’s right and risking her job or turning off her life force so she can do what she is told and be safe. Fortunately for Claire, June still had a passion for education and every student within these walls. She dialed each of the gifted teachers finding four who could meet with Claire right now.
“Claire, dear, come with me. We have a meeting on the second floor with your new teachers. Don’t be nervous child, the hard part is over. I believe your teachers will be very interested in helping you.
Jamie was on the field stunning his teammates with the deadly accuracy of his arm. He gave it all in practice just like his father taught him and the coach was blown away. Christian Memorial won the state championship this year and coach DiBiaso would bet a year’s salary it was in the bag for next year as well, as long as Jamie Fraser was playing. A whistle toot sent everyone running for the warmth of the locker room.
Jamie’s curls were still wet from the shower when he dropped into his car and zoomed toward home. It was getting dark but he saw an unmistakable silhouette ahead. A crazy mass of curls and an ass the angels only dreamed of. He jerked the VW to the side of the road and called out to the girl waiting in the bus line.
Claire smiled and waved, making Jamie feel weird suddenly. What was this then? He was completely baffled by her response, or lack thereof. That half-hearted wave was meant for a cousin or a neighbor. Jaime got out and gently pulled her from the line.
“Come Sassenach, I’m drivin ye home.”
“I like the bus, but thank you.”
He listened to her voice and heard sincerely. This was no female trick like Geneva was famous for. That little snip of a person was responding with honesty and complete lack of interest in him. Hold up, his mind was screaming. Never happened before, ever! He watched her shivering in the cold of the Boston night. He was intrigued and approached her again.
“May I speak with ye for a moment Sassenach?”
She looked at him like he lost his mind but she stepped out of line and walked over to him. “What?”
“Could I impose on ye lass, for yer company? I like the way ye talk and I’m missin my family tonight. Would ye talk to me while I drive ye home, please?”
Claire watched his eyes sparkle under the street light and felt a tractor beam pulling her toward him. He opened the car door for her and she breathed in his masculine scent and watched him fall into his seat. There was an awkward silence between them as each questioned what they were doing in this car together on this frigid night.
Jamie pulled over and looked down the block of historic brownstones. “Which is yer house Sassenach?”
“I will point to it if you tell me what Sassenach means.”
“It means outsider lass. Because of yer accent. And yer house?”
“Why is it so important to know which is my house?”
“So I know where to pick ye up in the morning for school.”
“Right here is fine, thank you. I really hate that bus.” Claire jumped out of the car and walked swiftly down the block, cutting across someone’s front lawn like she owned it. Hearing the car pull away she returned to the sidewalk and continued to her front door.
Miss Abby sat across from Jamie, enjoying his pleasure over her meal. She noticed a small flare in his eyes indicating conscious thought every few minutes. A bad test grade maybe, a fight at school, bad practice, the possibilities were endless. She had faith that Jamie would figure it out…what ever it was.
Claire could not remember ever being this exhausted. She had tested all afternoon and the questions got more bizarre and complex until she was finally released. Her bloodshot eyes watched the four teachers as they huddled over her answer sheet stealing glances at each other and then her. They seemed very happy when they let her leave asking her to join them again tomorrow morning. Claire ran in the crisp late afternoon air, just needing space and solitude. She fell in line at the bus stop and was lost in her memory of the afternoon. Until she heard the burr of the cutest boy she had ever seen.
The teachers encouraged her to choose a topic she found interesting and design a unique study that could be presented at the international science of the future competition. They promised it would be a boost to her studies, ivy league invitations, scholarships, and notoriety to make friends at school.
She laid on her bed with a scrubbed face letting her mind wander. She saw an arm and a torso in movement as a ball was lifted and thrown. She saw the angles rush in and equations for mass and energy and distance. Her heartbeat jumped 30 beats per minute and she smiled in the dark. She had her hypothesis, experiment, measurement, testing and eventual modification of her hypothesis. She needed a test subject that was good enough to study.
Claire sat up and turned her desk light on so she could write her ideas down before she forgot them. She needed to study something other people wanted to know, whatever that was. She was still working on her study outline the next day when Geillis invaded her space and mind during lunch. Claire was fascinated by the backstories on all the popular kids, mostly from rich families or athletes.
“The transplants do pretty well too.” She noticed Claire’s eyebrows go up. “Transplants are kids in the exchange program that come from other countries. Catholic Memorial recruits gifted students from all over the world. Guess there’s a shortage of home-grown jocks and scholars. Like them,” Geillis nodded to the side where Jamie and Geneva were flirting with each other. “Those two are transplants from Scotland and on the top of the food chain at this school. Geneva is academics and Jamie is, well you know.”
“No! I don’t know. What is he?”
Geillis smiled indulgently at Claire, “Jamie Fraser is our star quarterback. I thought you knew him the way you face-planted his chest yesterday in the hall and then walked away with him.”
Claire was staring at the couple with their heads close together, giggling and kissing. “No, I don’t know anything about him. But he did drive me home and pick me up for school today.”
“Well, I’m anxious to hear all about it,” Geillis’s eyes twinkled wickedly and she scooted closer to Claire.
Claire was given her schedule of classes and struggled to find the new rooms hidden by the throngs of bodies crushed into the halls between classes. She was happy they were a grade higher than her original schedule. At least she wouldn’t be bored.
She found her homeroom, full of long desks with clumps students scattered around. She sat alone and pulled out her study outline. She didn’t like this room and felt like people were watching her. She tried to ignore it and get some work done. When the bell rang Claire’s head jerked up at the clock. Throwing books into her backpack she ran around the corner to the door and there he was. Jamie was talking with a group of guys and he opened the door so she could zoom past.
A fly on the wall could tell the world that Jamie was being raked over the coals and severely punished by his girlfriend Geneva who wanted the rides to school with “the little twit” to stop, permanently. The show of affection in the lunchroom was Geneva’s perfectionism, not showing weakness to the world. Jamie was just happy the fighting was over and realized his mistake when he pulled her outside for serious kissing.
“Get your filthy hands off of me, ye whore.”
“So it’s a whore I am now.”
“Stop giving that idiot rides to school where ye park and people can see ye both get out. If you insist on being a bleeding heart ye can give her a ride home if she gets picked up at least three blocks from the school.”
“Will there be anythin else, Geneva?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, “no, that’s all.” Geneva turned around and left Jamie standing outside. He watched her smile and wave at someone and realized she was hellbent on looking perfect 24/7 no matter the cost.
Jamie sat in the bleachers and the cool afternoon made him feel more like himself. He thought about Geneva, the prettiest girl in the world he decided when he first got to this school. The fact she came from Scotland and would return home for the summer was a bonus. He decided she was perfect but she wouldn’t give him the time of day at first. After his first game, she was all flirty smiles and agreed to a date, they hit it off. She was here because of her academic achievement and Jamie had a snapshot in his head of the two of them, he in a Greenbay uniform next to Geneva in a white lab coat. He knew she was fading in the picture and he forced himself to look at it. He didn’t like the girl she was today but decided to cool it a bit before breaking it off with her. Maybe she’ll come around.
Claire pushed the door open and saw Jamie’s VW waiting against the curb. He leaned over and popped the door for her.
“Here.”
“What’s that for?”
“I am paying my share of gas and happy to do it because I hate that bus.” He said no three times and finally pointed at the glove box. Claire was happy he let her do her part and her effervescence came bubbling up as she talked about her study outline.
“My friend said you play football, is that true?”
Jamie’s head looked sideways at an innocent face asking a serious question.
“Yea.”
“I got approval for my study outline so it’s time to find my subject. I know it’s a lot to ask but I hoped you could introduce me to some of the top players. I only need one person but I anticipate a lot of no’s. So, could you, please?”
Jamie stared at her through the red traffic light and left turn arrows waiting for the joke that didn’t come.
“What sport does this test subject have to play?”
“Football.”
Jamie’s head was starting to hurt, “I’ll see what I can do.”
His little friend Claire was a walking contradiction, at least to his limited exposure to girls. Did she even realize who he was, what he meant to the team and school? He was out of sorts from the weird day with Geneva, and no football until next year. He needed some aspirin and a list of chores.
Claire was doing homework in the kitchen and ran for her ringing phone.
“Hello, a…Claire. My name is Geneva Dunsany. I am calling about my boyfriend Jamie Fraser and the fight you caused between us today. It isn’t right to accept a ride to school with someone else’s boyfriend. Ye may look like a twelve-year-old boy but it doesn’t look good coming to school with my boyfriend. Hello! That bitch hung up on me…click.”
Claire stared at the phone and wondered if her crush on Jamie was noticeable. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment and she threw her phone in her purse. The next morning she taped a piece of cardboard to the streetlight with a note to Jamie.
I can’t ride with you anymore so I’m on the hateful bus. You are very nice, Geneva is a bitch. See ya superstar.
Jamie was livid at Geneva’s audacity. This was not going to fly. Thanks for making this easy for me, Geneva. Wait…did the Sassenach call me superstar? He swung a U-turn and went back to grab the sign before heading to school.
Geillis was bent at the waist, laughing uncontrollably at what Claire had done. “I knew there was a reason I liked you so much. Shit, that’s the bell, we’re going to be late.” The two of them ran to their classes where Claire could grieve the second-biggest loss of her life. At least that is what it felt like today.
The rumor that Jamie broke up with Geneva went around the school like wildfire. Jamie tried to talk to Claire several times but she would smile politely and move along.
The life seemed to go out of Claire. She requested a postponement of her project until next year and applied to test out of junior year so she could get this stupid school behind her. Uncle Lam had prepared her academically but did squat about teaching her to guard her heart.
She had gained a position in a social group at school and many of her friends were leaving for the summer. Somewhere during the hug-fest she looked up at the bluest eyes on the planet and felt her heart slip into her throat. They stared at each other and Claire waved and smiled at him. Jamie held his phone up and snapped her picture. Looking back at her he saw the tear roll down her cheek.
“My God lass, what’s happened to ye,” he said quietly. “Claire!” Jamie sprinted toward her but her bestie Geillis saw her pain and pulled her out a side door and straight to her car.
Jamie had one last stop to make before parking his car in storage for the summer and flying home. He pulled Claire’s cardboard note out of the trunk and penned a note, taping it to the streetlight.
“See ye in three months Sassenach. I told the bus driver yer a terrorist so it looks like ye will be comin with me next year.”
Geillis handed Claire the note and watched the emotion play out in her eyes. It was time to find the beautiful swan in her friend and let the doting boys at the clubs and beach do the rest.
Miss Abby’s new book was published over the summer and number one on the bestseller list. She was scheduled for book signings and interviews for the next six months but that did not stop her from waving to Jamie when she spotted him at the airport.
Jesus Christ Jamie, you got better looking over the summer, didn’t think that was possible.
“How was football camp?”
“It was great.”
“Have you still got your arm?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hear there’s a new man in my life?”
“Really?”
“No.”
When Jamie got up the next morning Miss Abby was off on an eight-week signing tour and he still walked down the marble floor silently.
He was so excited to see Claire and hear about her summer. He pulled the VW to the side of the road and gorged on a pretty girl with long silky black hair talking with a robed man holding a newspaper. Jamie admired her hair and curves while watching for Claire. A breeze slipped under her hair letting it dance around her face as she turned around with familiar golden eyes. His mouth dropped open, eyes big as saucers, then she smiled at him. Jamie jumped out of the car and hugged her. All he could do is stare at her and shake his head.
“Ye grew up over the summer, did ye nae.” He could not help himself so he blatantly studied her from head to toe making her giggle. She was stunning, centered, and comfortable in her gorgeous skin. Before he could stop himself he touched her cheek. Yer skin is like a pearl Sassenach, it glows. She smiled at him with warmth in her eyes.
“I’m glad my friend is back. I really hate that bus.”
They walked toward the school and Jamie stole glances whenever her head was turned. “Sassenach, can we go to dinner or coffee tonight. I really want to catch up and hear about yer summer.”
“I would love to! Soon. I have a prelaunch meeting tonight.”
“It’s the only night I don’t have practice,” he sounded disappointed.
“Maybe we can do it next Monday.” Her smile dazzled him, her curves made him weak and he was astounded by the size of her breasts. He wanted to run his finger…
“See ya superstar”
Jamie wanted her to stay so he could finish his examination of her body changes. When she walked away he got an eyeful of her round ass. That works too, he thought.
Football made Jamie’s world circular. His star was on the rise, pretty girls were always around him hoping to be noticed, handshakes from teachers, and reporters flocked to him after every game. Claire watched him from a distance, cut out every article about him, and felt every heartbeat was for him alone. He was her kryptonite and the only time of day that mattered was the fifteen-minute ride to school.
Claire was putting the finishing touches on the equipment she would use in the kinesiology lab. The video guys that signed on to work with her were testing their camera angles and making changes she requested.
Claire opened the door to let the first subject in and saw Jamie leaning against the wall. She smiled,“what are you doing here?”
Ye asked me for an introduction to the best football players that might be test subjects. I searched high and low but there’s no one better than me. I have proof…see?” He held a torn out article from the paper “Best High School Quarterback In The Country.” The other blokes willna be comin. Just me. I changed my homeroom to work with ye. Are ye ready lass.”
Claire was smiling for several reasons. He was hands-down, the best possible test subject, he would honor his commitment to the study, and she gained an hour each day with him. She was thrilled.
A month later Geillis leaned her back against the lockers and read the article about Claire winning entrance to the science competition. There was a picture of Jamie mock throwing the football and about one hundred wires attached to his arm, the video guys behind two cameras and Claire recording data on her clipboard.
“Wow, you guys are really crammed in there and it looks uncomfortable. How did you get Jamie to agree to this?”
“He volunteered after he told the other guys not to come.”
Geillis didn’t pay attention to much unless it hit her on the head. She had a minute and a half to think about it before the next cute boy pinched her, or pulled on her hair. Claire ran a comb through her hair and slammed her locker.
“Why don’t I get attention like that?”
Geillis folded the paper back on the picture and watched Claire’s face look confused. She continued folding until only Jamie’s face was seen. Claire’s gaze went from the picture to Geillis’s eyes. “Why are you always so cryptic Geillis?”
Claire shook her head and walked to her next class. Geillis stood staring after her wondering what could make the big-man-on-campus volunteer so much time?
Jamie’s tension was mounting as playoffs grew near. He was aware of the scouts and recruiters in the stands for every game, multiple videos capturing every single move, good or bad. He wanted more than anything to win the championship again for the coach, his father, Miss Abby, and every single person who had cleared the way for him.
Jamie looked for Claire who was never hard to find due to all her equipment and team buzzing around her. She was behind a camera with a huge protruding lens. He looked directly into it and for a full minute, he let his face tell her how much he needed her now.
Claire saw Jamie’s eyes like he was right in front of her. She felt him reach across the field and touch her cheek. Hot tears pressed into her eyes and she blinked hard to clear them. Then he moved out of frame and she stood up as he ran back to the line. She wiped her face quickly and took some deep breaths before getting back to her work.
After spending so much time together this past semester he had become her dearest friend as well as her secret love interest. On warm days, she would meet him on the field after practice and they would talk about their families. Claire could picture Scotland so clearly in her mind when Jamie talked about his home. Most times he made her laugh but sometimes she felt his deep yearning for his family, his isolation from the seat of his heart. When she told him about her parent's death and being raised by Lam in Egypt, he was silent until she finished. He pulled her to her feet and gave her a hug that shot fireworks off in her brain and she clung to him.
It was a slow, steady climb to a trusting friendship, unencumbered by passion that often precludes a deep understanding of the other. They were the oddball couple/not a couple at school, protected from teasing and gossip by the unwavering respect that Jamie commanded. It was Claire’s pink bubble.
The game was close to a mercy-rule point difference where the coaches would end the torture. Coach DiBiaso called Jamie in to run a play that was complicated, and so far, only done in practice. If it worked, it would be a miracle. Jamie called the play in the huddle and then altered the position of two players knowing he would catch hell from the coach but seeing no alternative. Many worried eyes flicked at Jamie’s as they ran to formation. The play went perfectly and the game was called for their 48 point lead.
Jamie found Claire in the lab looking at the new video. “Are ye ready soon lass, should I wait?”
“Two things, I am done for the night. Second, I have one more test to run and then we’re finished with testing.” She smiled at him sincerely. I would be grateful for a lift home tonight. She packed up and shut the computers down, and flicked the lights off.
Jamie picked up her camera case and led the way to his car. “How do you manage to carry this heavy case to yer house Sassenach? Why won’t you let me know where ye live? I know every other detail about ye and it’s makin me feel hurt, right here.” He was joking but the truth was thinly veiled.
“Don’t be ridiculous Jamie, there are two feet of muscle in front of your heart so it can’t be hurt.”
He put his hand on the back of her neck, one of his favorite friendly touches that made Claire feel warm inside.
“This last test I have is an hour and a half so we have to do it after school. Just let me know the best day with your busy schedule.” She looked up at him, “it will be weird not seeing you every day after that. It has been fun and the data is better than I could ever have imagined. Thank you, Jamie.”
“Yer welcome lass. I know it will help football in some way, and you, so it was an honor. Which driveway might I pull in?”
Claire looked up nonchalantly like this was an everyday occurrence, “three houses on the left.”
Claire said her usual see ya tomorrow and piled out of the car, lugging her case up the steps of her brownstone. He felt so close to her sometimes but…he didn’t know what he was feeling lately. If she would just give him a sign she wanted more it would be so easy, he thought. But she never did.
Jamie had hundreds of colored wires stuck to his shoulder and arm as he completed the last test.
“I only need ten more minutes of your time superstar. Shirt off please.” Claire was clinical and no-nonsense as she grabbed a container of white goo. When she turned around her face was just six inches from his naked chest. She gasped and her eyes roamed his muscled chest, nipples, then up to his thick shoulders and finally his face and those beautiful eyes.
Jaime agreed to help Claire and possibly the sport of football but he rarely felt like anything more than a test subject to her. He was very confused about the Sassenach but in his honest moments, he realized she wasn’t into him as a boyfriend and while every other girl in school wanted to drop their panties for him, Claire seemed impervious to his stardom.
Claire looked at his face and worried he was feeling exploited. She touched his hand and felt a jolt of lightning not expected. After clearing her throat she asked quietly if he was alright to continue. Jamie was forming the word no in his mouth as his eyes swept across Claire’s face. In that second he saw it. The blush, dilated pupils, open lips, pleading eyes. He couldn’t identify each of the signs but he was a keen observer of what happens to a girl when she wants to kiss.
“I’m fine to go on Sassenach.”
“First position please,” said just above a whisper. Jamie drew his arm back in a mock throwing position. Claire dipped the tip of her finger into the white goo and placed a dot of the liquid every three inches. She weaved in and out of Jamie’s space with her goo and ruler and then stood between his raised arms and bent legs to add drops up his torso, neck, and chin. Jaime stared straight ahead struggling to gain control over his desire to drop his arms and finally touch her. He felt cold goo drip onto his cheek.
“Goddammit,” she whispered. “It’s almost over, I promise, please don’t move.”
One of the graphic techs ran over with a stool and wet cloth and helped Claire stand on it to remove the drip. Jamie watched her intently. Her mouth barely inches from his, arms raised to his face, she moved around him so carefully and so close he could feel her breath on his face.
“Lights gentlemen.” Jamie heard the whir of the cameras coming to life, he saw the light pulse that Claire directed at his throwing side. “Go ahead Jamie, give me all you got.” He was ready to lose it when she said that but he attempted to complete his throwing motion while she encouraged him.
Jamie was breathing hard from the proximity to Claire when one of the techs called out to stop.
“Claire, his sweat is distorting the picture.”
Claire climbed back on the stool and held his face as she dried his sweat. Her eyes lowered to his and he saw the jolt go through her. I’m sorry lass, he thought, but I’m comin for ye and I canna stop. He lowered his arms which encircled Claire and he watched her eyes close as if she wanted nothing to interrupt the feeling. He pulled her closer to him, lips an inch from each other.
“Release your team Sassenach so I can kiss ye.”
“Um, um, that’s a wrap for tonight. Thank you, gentlemen, out, everybody out!”
When the door closed behind them Claire was ready to get down from the stool.
“Stay,” he whispered as he closed the distance between them and then pressed his lips to hers, quickly losing his battle for a slow chaste kiss and forcing her lips open to allow his tongue. He knew she had experience with kissing by the way she angled her head and breathed. Whoever he was, Jamie thought, I’m gonna kiss away every memory of him.
Claire pressed her lips to Jamie’s and got lost in the sensation she had dreamed about for the past year. She knew she should be worried but could not think of a single reason why.
Jamie watched her face. The arousal was obvious making him want to dance a jig around the lab. Her slight smile and sparkling eyes were magnetic and he wanted to lose himself in them. Claire reached for the wet towel and started to wipe the dots off his arms and torso. They said nothing and Jamie watched her hands and the towel touch his skin. She held him to her with one hand while she wiped the dots from his torso and neck. She pulled his face down to wipe the dots on his face and he crushed her to him. He broke the kiss but kept his face an inch from hers and when she looked at him he whispered, “Surrender Claire.”
Claire’s heart took off like a rocket and she had not seen it yet after an hour of kissing. She vaguely considered saying something but that would prevent more kissing so she just smiled and lifted her face to his.
“We should go Sassenach.” She fell against him and whimpered. He put his arm around her and walked her to the door. Looking down at her, “Ye dinna turn anythin off yet.”
“Hmmm?”
He chuckled at her expression, “come, lass, ye need to turn all this off before we go.”
When they were walking to the car, Claire leaned into Jamie and felt his arm around her. He walked her to the door of her house and kissed the breath out of her. He decided she may have kissed before but that was all. He pulled her hands to the back of his neck and felt the length of her press into him. That was too much for Claire who backed up and said goodnight rather quickly.
Jamie’s joyous exuberance was not to be denied and he launched his body into a front flip off the fifth step, landing and laughing at the honking and hooting motorists.
Claire had a permanent smile as she got ready for bed. She wondered if Jamie was thinking about her and if he wanted to kiss again. She shot a text off to Geillis
C: U up?
G: Bed, cramps, no
C: get better, Jamie kissed me like a million times tonight
The phone rang.
*********************************
I filled my lungs with a deep breath of fresh mountain air and exhaled smiling. I was lost in my daydream, memories actually, of my first year at Catholic Memorial. I have not thought about those people in years. I felt a chilling wind blow across me and climbed out of my hammock picking up my books. It smelled like rain. I watched the trail for my wonderful husband to return. When the cloud above ripped open I took refuge in the tent.
I fell back on the foam rolls and sleeping bags carefully laid out for a reunion of souls and giggled to myself. I offered him two choices, an extravagant weekend at a resort, or camping high in the mountains. Knowing his choice already, I had the camping gear stacked in the corner of the utility room, ready to go.
“Where might the love shack be?” He ran his hand up my back making me shiver.
I tried to whisper my answer because his face was millimeters from mine but he couldn’t wait and kissed me dizzy. He ran his hands all over my body making me shake for him. My reflective state of mind brought back every gasp and gaze on the way to paradise before we left.
I smiled and stretched in the warmth of the tent until the first drop of water hit my forehead. The eyes flew open and I saw a line of water drops lined up on the roof of the tent waiting for their turn to fall. “Shit.” I put my biggest bowl under the drips and considered driving back down the mountain to purchase a new love shack. It would have to wait for this rain to stop and the return of my heart with his stringer full of fish no doubt.
I heard banging outside and unzipped the tent flap barely seeing his outline in the downpour. A cooler flipped open, a clunk from a stringer of fish, and footsteps in the mud. My God, I thought, this impromptu camping trip was supposed to be beautiful weather, a calm lake, and two days to forget the world.
I called out to leave his sopping clothes outside and scrambled out of my halter top and shorts. Jamie poked his head in smiling with pure joy and took the towel I offered. “Ye ordered the weather from Scotland did ye? Ah, I know ye did, it’s why yer my favorite wife Sassenach.” His eyes raked over me from end to end as he prowled closer and whispered, “it’s one of the reasons.”
He had been away at football camp for six weeks and we were hungry for each other.
“Do I smell like fish Sassenach?”
“I don’t care. Come here, love.”
Sometime later I laid in Jamie’s arms with my head on his chest.
“Listen,” he said at last, softly. “Do you hear?” At first I heard nothing but the rushing of the wind, and the trickle of rain, dripping through the holes of the roof. Then I heard it, the steady, slow thump of his heartbeat, pulsing against me, and mine against his, each matching each, in the rhythm of life.
The palm of his hand slid down my body from my shoulder to my knee. I was drifting in my euphoria, eyes closed, remembering how Jamie claimed my body in the last hour, rather roughly I might add. It’s about possession, and dominance, I think, and it calls to a place deep in my soul making me submissive, a slave to his pleasure and my arousal climbs to the stroke range. When that part of Jamie comes out it is he who wakes up with bloody scratches and bruises. It’s like date night for the neanderthal in each of us. I giggled at that thought and forced my eyes open.
The look in Jamie’s eyes made me want to weep for him. “What’s wrong love?”
“Yer comin with me to camp next year Sassenach, I insist. Some of the guys brought their wives, and some had a kid with them! I felt jealousy for what they had and then I got…grumpy.”
“What? You are the best quarterback in the entire country,” I kissed his cheeks, eyes, and throat as I talked, “you do not get grumpy.”
“Well, accordin to the team, if ye dinna come with me next year, they arna comin.”
He rolled me on top of him, “tell me yer comin next year, Sassenach.”
“I’m coming next year to spring training, and every year after that, so help me God. You are the only star in my sky James Fraser.” I let the tears fall because I was overwhelmed at the moment.
“There should be ample room for one tiny star then? When you are ready?”
“Of course Jamie, but two tiny stars or even three might be better. Do you agree my love?”
Jamie blinded me with his smile and wrapped me in his warmth.
“That will be just fine Sassenach.”
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Journey to France @silvercharict
Stand Arrows, that was what they had started calling the mysterious ancient arrows that they had encountered in Egypt. The ones that had given Dio’s followers the powers that they had and needed to try and stop the Stardust Crusaders from reaching them. Of course, it hadn’t worked. Although they had had their fair share of struggles with the stand users they had faced, it had been Jotaro that had won in the end. Managing to defeat Dio and bring him back to life. With Dio gone, Joseph would have thought that their journey would have ended there. Everything had seemed to go back to normal. At least as normal as they could be. They had left Egypt, three people lighter than what they had arrived with. Avdol, Kakyoin and Iggy had all lost their lives during the fight, a devastating blow to the three remaining crusaders. Even now it was heartbreaking to think of the death that they had had to endure in order to stop Dio and save Holly’s life. Joseph had been determined to make sure that they hadn’t died in vain though, deciding that after the Speedwagon Foundation had uncovered more of the stand arrows, he would stop at nothing until they were all collected and in their possession. They were much too dangerous to be out there in the world where someone with bad intentions could get their hands on them and use it to their advantage the way that Enyaba had to serve Dio. It was far too risky, and it could only lead to more death, if they weren’t careful. It wasn’t but about a year or so after the foundation had found out about the arrows that they began to surface again. Collecting them all could take some time, but he was willing to put in the effort to do it.
“Thank you. No, that’s all the information I need. I’ll handle it from here,” Joseph said into the other end of the receiver as he hung the phone up.
He turned then to face his wife, who was fussing about what color she should wear for the day. He hated to have to leave hear alone again after having just gotten back from a dangerous journey, but he felt like the should be part of this. Joseph Joestar was seventy years old now and despite his growing age, he was still in decent shape. He wanted to try and help collect as many of these arrows as he could while he was still able to. It seemed that the legacy of the Joestar family would never actually come to a peaceful end at this rate. Even now, he was having to clean up after the mess that Dio had left behind. All because of the arrows that had been uncovered and used by Enyaba. He didn’t anticipate that he would have anymore peaceful years left in his life going forward. He could just leave the situation to Jotaro and Polnareff, trusting that his grandson would be able to carry on the work. Although with Jotaro busy with schooling he wasn’t sure he wanted to disrupt his education for that. He at least deserved to have something out of all this mess. Part of him felt responsible for everything though, so maybe that was why he was so set on doing as much as he could for the time being, despite his growing age. Those that had lost their lives, he had been the one that allowed them to even come on the journey in the first place. If it hadn’t been for him, they might not have ever gotten involved and as an extension probably wouldn’t have ever lost their lives. He wasn’t sure if Suzie would be able to understand that aspect of it, but he hoped that she might. Especially since she had been there whenever he had had to leave Italy for Switzerland. She had known of the dangers then; this shouldn’t be much different right?
(She’s not going to like this.)
“Suzie, I have to leave for a little while. The Foundation found something...” He said after he had cleared his throat to get her attention.
“Will you be gone long?” She asked, turning to him.
He deflected his gaze, shifting uncomfortably. “Well that’s the thing. I don’t really know. It pertains to something we found in Egypt…. “ (I always hate doing this.)
She looked at him a little surprised at first, and then smiled coming up to him and placing her hands on his shoulders, gazing up at him. “Okay dear. Call me when you can and be careful.”
(She took that easier than I thought!)
Of course, the days leading up to his departure he had to spend with Suzie after that, doing the things she liked and helping her carry anything if and when they went shopping. She knew that his work was important and after learning the truth about what had happened a year prior after he left for Japan, she had made it clear to her husband that he was to be honest with what he was up to. This was her way of getting back at him, something that she had held onto since their younger years together. Suzie always proving to be a fairly good opponent when it came to pranks and tricks. Although her’s had always been a little more subtle than his, she had her ways to get under his skin. And as much as he found it to be bothersome, he didn’t complain too much about it. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to make sure that he suffered at least a little bit for having to leave so soon after they had jut settled back down in New York. It couldn’t be helped though, he had to go after the stand arrows, and he had to track them down as soon as he possibly could. Already, there was no telling how many people had been subjected to them. Or what would be waiting for him whenever he got to where the latest reports would take him. So, he would endure Suzie’s wrath for as long as she needed him to if she was going to continue to allow him to track down the arrows and prevent from any destructive stands being developed. That was the last thing that they needed.
Luckily for him, he knew someone else that would be able to help with the hunt for the Stand arrows. While Jotaro was busy and couldn’t be available readily, they still had their friend Polnareff. Joseph hadn’t seen him since they had parted ways back in Egypt, but he was certain that there wouldn’t be a problem in recruiting him for the mission. Actually, he had been lucky—or unlucky—enough that the first sightings of a stand arrow being used were in France. It would be something new for Joseph, out of all the countries he had been to so far, he couldn’t say he had ever visited France. And he would be able to pick up Polnareff while he was there, too. With his things packed and ready to go he was ready to head out of the country once again. This time his destination would be Paris. Already, he had made arrangements with the Foundation to cover his stay somewhere nice in the downtown area and gotten all the paperwork he needed to get across the border. After he had found out and confirmed everything with the Foundation, gathering from them all the information he needed he put a word out that he would be arriving in Paris in a few days. It was just an unlucky trade that in those days leading up to his departure he had to answer to his wife for. That’s why by the time he had gotten out of the car at the airport, he couldn’t have been happier to be boarding a plane. It had been a long week leading up to this point and honestly, he was just looking forward to reuniting with his young friend. And at this point, getting away from New York and Suzie’s antics was something that he felt he could use. It was just his hope that it didn’t go as bad as it had the year prior. He didn’t think he would ever forgive himself for what had happened to Avdol, Iggy and Kakyoin.
The flight to France had gone smoothly without any issues, another thing he was grateful for. Although upon actually arriving to Paris and observing the signs. He came to realize that he didn’t know a lick of French. This wouldn’t have been the first time this happened, although the last time he had had some help from Speedwagon. When he had gone to Italy, he had never bothered to pick up on the language. It was his hope that like most places around the world, they could speak English. Because otherwise the trip was going to be off to a rocky start. Although if everything had gone according to plan, there should be someone from the Foundation waiting to meet with him because of the fact that he couldn’t speak the language. Now all he had to do was figure out where he was supposed to be meeting them.
(Oh boy. Maybe I should have brought a dictionary.)
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Cheshire & Dogs
It took a while for Y/N to save up for the holiday Harry and she were just returning from. Y/N worked extra hours and shifts in order to pay for the two week trip to Egypt. Y/N knew that Harry desperately needed a break and with the gap from his world tour, it was the perfect chance to quickly book it and fly off. Now, that their two weeks of sun and drinking fruity alcoholic beverages all day, they were sad to be on their flight home. Y/N sighed and snuggled her head into Harry's neck as they sat upright listening to Niall’s new album as it had newly been released. Harry had fallen asleep, but he still nestled back into Y/N despite his sleepy state. Harry and Y/N were flying into Gatwick with the original plan to drive from their to Harry’s London home. But, with Harry’s guilt of not giving Y/N anything but a few lilos on the all-inclusive holiday, he felt as if he owed her something. So, he planned to go up to Anne’s for the week in Cheshire. Rather than all the hassle going from Gatwick to London to Cheshire the next day, he thought that he would drive straight up to Cheshire. But, before he drove the four-hour trip after a five hours flight, he needed a nap. A nap he got. A blanket placed ever so gently over them both and an earphone in one of their ears and hands held together under the warmth of the blanket, he snoozed.
Y/N woke Harry up just as they were about to land and they waited as the many Britons waited to get off the plane. Harry had stood up, much like everyone else. Y/N had followed suit, clearly. He stood close to Harry resting her head on his chest. “Long drive we’ve got ahead,” Harry said with an eye-roll. Y/N nodded. “Least you get to see your Mum at the end of it though.” Y/N smiled knowing that Harry would brighten up knowing that he would be seeing his Mum. “She really needs it after Robin. Gemma and I always try to be there but we both have difficult jobs. Just miss her” The doors had opened and people had begun to shuffle out but not without a ‘thank you’ to the cabin crew and pilots. “I know H, you’ll be fine. I’m excited. I haven’t seen her in years.” Y/N said walking closer to the doors. “Thank you,” You both said in unison as you walked out. “Mum’s excited to see you too. Cares more about her son’s best friend than her son!” Harry laughed walking down corridors towards the UK borders. “Oh come on, we both know that's not true. You little Momma's boy” You laughed. Harry and Y/N had always been really really close friends and it never went unnoticed to anyone but themselves that there was chemistry. They always acted a couple but both shut down any allegations that they were a couple.
After getting through the UK borders and collecting their suitcases they made it to the car. They pulled all their cases in the back seat and grabbed the blanket for Y/N. Harry knew she always got cold and kindly offered it to snuggle up with. She snuggled close and smelt just like Harry, she loved it.
Harry pulled into the petrol garage not far from Gatwick grabbing himself a black coffee and Y/N a hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream, just the way she liked it. He also bought a few packets of sweets and few cold drinks for further on. He climbed back in his Range Rover finding his best friend cuddled into his black seats clutching his phone which had the aux cable connected. As Harry had expected: she put on his album. Her favourite album. He started driving along the motorway, content that he had one of his favourite people next to him.
It was when they started reaching the country roads leading to Cheshire at about one in the morning that Y/N woke up. She stretched a little and Harry smiled kindly at her. “Allo sleepyhead,” Harry spoke softly. “Hey” Y/N whispered. “Comfortable?” He asked. He knew she was comfortable because he knew what made her comfortable. The blanket, heat on so it wasn’t cold, sweets, bottle of water for when she had woken up and all her favourite songs on a playlist, that of course was playing. “Yeah, thank you, do you need a break? I can drive for a bit now.” She offered, but Harry shook her head. “I’m okay thank you, it’s a home stretch for us now gorgeous.” He smiled. She nodded. Her hand reached out to his and they held hands. “Thank you for the holiday, petal. I really enjoyed myself. I feel so relaxed.” He smiled giving her hand a squeeze. “More than welcome, H.”
Arriving at Anne’s excited both Harry and Y/N. They couldn’t wait to see Anne. The climbed out the Range Rover and Harry held Y/N’s hand as they walked up the path to Anne’s house. Before they could even ring the doorbell, the door opened. “Hello! Oh look at you both!” Anne rushed out getting both in a big cuddle, she squeezed them both. “Hi Anne” Y/N giggled. “C’mon, come in, let's have some tea.” Anne smiled, Anne always offered tea and it was one of her favourite things about Anne. Anne and Harry walked in leaving their bags by the door. Harry sat on the sofa comfortable like a lazy boy whilst Y/N helped Anne with the tea. “How are you?” Y/N asked. “I’m getting there my lovely. It’s so nice to be surrounded by my beautiful family and friends.” She smiled. The loss of Robin was hard for everyone who knew him. He had made such an impact on everyone's lives. “I’m glad, you know I’m always here, even if Harry’s jetting off doing shows across the globe.” Y/N smiled. “Oh bless him, he’s done so well, I’m immensely proud.” She smiled bining the tea bags. “We all are.” Y/N agreed.
Anne and Y/N walked out the kitchen and into the living room. Y/N held hers and Harry’s whilst Anne held her own. Y/N handed Harry his tea and he patted the seat next to him and she sat down snuggling into him under the blanket. Harry smiled and pressed a kiss to Y/N’s head. “So, come on then, tell me all about tour!” Anne smiled. “It’s been great, I love it. The atmosphere is amazing, I cannot believe how many people want to see me!” Harry smiled. “Of course they do!” Anne smiled.
Y/N and Harry climbed up Anne’s stairs sloppily. They were so tired. The both walked into Harry’s old bedroom and Y/N climbed onto her side of the bed. “I’m so tired” She groaned. “We have travelled a bit today I suppose. “Can we watch something on Netflix before we go to bed?” Y/N pleads. Harry looks at Y/N knowing he cannot say no. “Yeah but pick something decent.” He rolls his eyes. “Are you trying to say I have shit taste in Netflix shows?” Y/N asks pretending to be offended. “Maybe, what are you gonna do about it?” Harry teases. Y/N picks up one of the throw pillow and lunges it at Harry. “Oi ye bugger” Harry says acting shocked. He picks it up throwing it back to Y/N. Y/N grabs his hands and pulls him down to the bed and makes him cuddle her by putting his arm around her. “Lay down and watch Netflix yeh goose.” She giggled. Y/N puts on Jack Whitehall: travels with my father. Y/N found it funny but before she knew it, she was dead asleep. It didn’t take long for Harry to look up at his best friend and see her sleeping peacefully. Harry gently removed himself from her embrace and made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. But, that's where he found his mother. Finishing her cup of tea, she smiled at Harry and asked if he was okay. Of course he was. “You and Y/N, you’re going to get together at some point. You’ll wake up.” Anne smiles knowingly. “Mum, we’re friends.” Harry rolls his eyes grabbing a glass from the cabinet. “You and Camille are friends. You don’t hold her hand, or let her sleep in your bed.” Anne said as her eyes scanned across the day's newspaper. “Yeah, it's late and I didn’t have time or effort to make her move, she looked comfy.” Harry excused turning the tap on an filling the glass. “Plus Camille isnt Y/N.” Harry says. Anne hums. “What?” Harry asks after taking a sip of his water. “Nothing, night my lovely boy, it's so nice to have you home.” She says pressing a kiss to her son's head. “Love you, Mum” Harry smiles.
The next morning they’re all geared up in thick coats, scarves, hats and wellie boots. A walk in the countryside would do them all some good, so that’s what they’re doing. The walked from Anne’s house to the public footpath which led them to the forest. They walked with Anne’s new dog, Freddy. Harry had bought Freddy for Anne shortly after Robin had passed to give Anne some company considering she’d be alone. Harry and Gemma would try to be there as much as the can but with jobs it was difficult. They walked in a row, Anne holding Freddy. Freddy was full of life and kept Anne on her toes, he was ready to go running. “Fred, stop then!” Anne called to him. He sat down and waited to be let off the lead. Once the clip was unfastened, he was off. Running through the grass without a care in the world, making everyone giggle. “Oh Fred” Anne laughed. Harry looked at Y/N who was watching Fred giggling along. “It!” Harry shouted tapping Y/N. “What?” Y/N said confused. “It!” Harry shouted. He was already running. Y/N sighed and began running after him. Fred started running after Harry, making Harry laugh which was good for Y/N because he began to slow down. Y/N ran fast and jumped on Harry causing him to fall over giggling. Fred came bounding along attacking them both with kisses. “Fred!” Harry laughed pushing him off, but Y/N began to tickle him causing him to laugh more. “Y/N, babe! Stop!” He laughed. Y/N laughed along with him. “Man up!” She giggled. Anne had caught up with them all and began laughing. Y/N finally stopped and helped Harry get up. They all continued their walk along the forest.
Once they’d gotten in the house and cuddles up on the sofa in front of the fire sipping tea and watching Rom-coms, Y/N and Harry had snuggled up together. Anne and wandered into the kitchen to get some biscuits for their tea but Harry took this time to speak up. “Hey, Y/N?” Hary said. Y/N hummed keeping her eyes on the telly and her hands held her cup tightly. “I have a confession.” Harry said warily. “Yeah?” Y/N turned now confused as to what Harry was saying. “I think, I might really like you.” Harry smiled. “Just think?” Y/N teased. “Y/N” He moaned dragging out her name. “Stop teasing me?” He threw his head back. “Only joking. Of course I like you too” Y/N smiled. “Really?” Harry questioned and Y/N nodded. “Of course.” She leant over and pressed a kiss to Harry’s lips. Something they had never done before. Harry took Y/N’s mug and placed it on the coffee table. He then leant forward a bit more and pressed another kiss upon her lips. Y/N parted her lips a little allowing Harry to take it slightly deeper. Harry moaned in content. “Date tomorrow?” He says when he takes a breath. “Most definitely” Y/N confirms with a kiss to his lips.
#harry styles imagines#harry styles#harry#styles#harry styles imagine#harry styles smut#harry styles lockscreen
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Cat Tracy
Title: Cat Tracy
Author: Gumnut
21 - 22 Aug 2020
Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS
Rating: Teen
Summary: Scott had a cat.
Word count: 4853
Spoilers & warnings: Needles
Timeline: Standalone
Author's note: Nutty's Fandomversary 2020 Fic Four. For @scribbles97 who asked for several things, but ended up with Scott and Cat. This one just happened in chat.
Many thanks to @scribbles97 who kinda had to work for this one ::hugs you lots:: I hope you enjoy it anyway :D
Disclaimer: Mine? You've got to be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.
-o-o-o-
Scott had a cat.
He had no idea how he had a cat. It just appeared one day under his pilot’s chair in One.
He had been returning from Egypt where he had had to locate and yank yet another lost tourist out of the Sahara. After dropping the dehydrated man off at the local hospital, he had quite gratefully plotted a flight plan for Tracy Island.
Halfway home he nearly fell out of his chair when something started chewing on his left boot.
The innocence in the green eyes looking up at him came across as anything but.
He would have returned it to Egypt, but Virgil found out about the spotted monstrosity before he could and would have killed him if he left it in the desert.
So, he had a cat.
And cats needed veterinary care.
So, this was how he found himself standing at the reception desk of a vet surgery in England. It was highly recommended by Penelope, apparently Sherbet approved.
Virgil had hounded him into it, of course. The big softy had been completely enamoured by the feral ball of fluff from the moment he laid eyes on her. Scott would have let him have the little varmit, but the cat - who was still simply called ‘The Cat’ despite his brother’s protests - had decided to sleep on his face every night, no matter how many locked doors lay between him and the feline.
Apparently, she was His Cat.
Gordon, of course, tried to lure her away with nibbles and treats...until she discovered his fish tanks and several of his prize pets went missing.
There was yelling after that.
Scott was forced to keep The Cat away from Gordon. There was mention of a cat skin hat and Scott was only half sure the aquanaut was kidding.
Virgil played with her and The Cat appeared to tolerate the engineer.
She hated Alan.
No-one knew why The Cat had such a dislike for the youngest Tracy. The moment she set eyes on him, it was all spiky fur fluffed out to make her appear twice her size, claws deployed, and hissing and snarling enough to melt the paintwork off the walls.
Suffice it to say that Alan was rarely in her presence.
But regardless of who liked The Cat, apparently, she was Scott’s and according to Virgil, that meant he had to look after her.
As he approached the reception desk, The Cat eyed him through the cat box Virgil had jimmied together. Green eyes challenged him.
But he had been challenged by green eyes before so he was used to it. His own eyes must have communicated something back, because she meowed at him.
Somewhat pitifully.
“Can I help you, sir?”
He glanced up, embarrassed to have been caught communing with the devil. The young nurse behind the counter smiled up at him. Her badge had the name Mia written on it. “Uh, hi. I have an appointment under the name ‘Tracy’.”
The nurse smiled at him again before turning to the computer and pulling up a file. “Yes, Mr Tracy. The vet will be ready for you shortly. Please take a seat.” She gestured to the waiting room.
Unfortunately, the room was half full...of both people and animals.
He nodded in her direction. “Thank you, ma’am.” And turned to face his fellow pet owners.
As with all waiting rooms several people looked up as he entered, cat cage in hand. He could see their assessments in their eyes. The woman on the right with a lap dog wrapped in a pink cardigan eyed The Cat with distaste. Probably because The Cat could inhale her dog by accident.
The older man two seats over smiled a toothless smile at Scott and patted the ferret sitting on his shoulder.
A little girl with her mother was holding a wire cage with a green budgerigar inside. The bird appeared to be having a nervous breakdown. Most likely caused by the St Bernard sitting next to it, eyeing it with a great deal of interest.
Scott found a spot between two empty chairs and folded himself into it. It wasn’t that he wasn’t a people person. Far from it, he enjoyed conversation and gatherings. It wasn’t that he wasn’t an animal person. He grew up on a farm, for crying out loud.
It was just…
Well…he hadn’t had any say in this and The Cat was bossing him around.
There. He admitted it.
He could hear Virgil laughing from here.
“That’s a pretty cat you’ve got yourself there.”
“Huh?” Oh, just classy, Mr Commander President Sir. “Oh, uh, yes, thank you.”
The woman smiled a set of glossy red lips at him, dipping her eyelashes just a little.
Scott blinked and a little heat headed both north and south as he realised that she was wearing little more than a jacket over a leopard print bikini.
And the view was…extensive.
“Have you had him long?”
“Her. No. This is our first visit.” As if to punctuate that statement The Cat hissed at the woman.
Surprisingly, she didn’t flinch or edge away. “Oh, you just have some spark, little one, don’t you.” And to Scott’s surprise, she dared to wave a finger within reach of The Cat.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
But long, pink nails slipped through the wire mesh and tickled The Cat under the chin.
The Cat, the little shit, started purring.
Until a reptilian head slid out from underneath the woman’s jacket and flicked its tongue at her.
The Cat let out a very undignified squawk and flung itself to the far side of its box and nearly tipped it off Scott’s lap. It was a fortunate accident that hid Scott’s reaction to the large snake now uncurling and extending its snout curiously in his direction.
“You have a snake.” Scott had a sudden and profound empathy for Gordon’s uncomfortable relationship with reptiles.
“Oh, that’s Jerry.” She patted the snake. “He’s feeling a bit off today. Aren’t you, sweetie? That’s why we’re here.” A wet, red kiss was dealt to the scales on the back of the snake’s head.
“He’s...uh...respectable.”
“Yes, he’s a big boy. Aren’t you, Jez. Such a big boy.” The woman was nuzzling the snake with her nose.
The snake did not appear impressed.
Scott did his best not to edge away from her. Fortunately, she was called in by the nurse a moment later.
Scott did not miss the amused smirk on the young nurse’s face.
Hmm, so snake lady was a regular who provided entertainment. Scott straightened in his seat.
The Cat chirped at him.
“You shut up.”
The Cat snickered. It could only be called that. He glared down at the box and the spotted menace gazed innocently back up at him before meowing.
This was all Virgil’s fault. “Should have dumped you in the desert.”
“Sir, how could you possibly consider that?! He’s adorable.” And again, Scott found his cat box the subject of attention via fingers, these ones with pink fingernails considerably shorter than the last set.
He looked up to find a middle-aged woman gazing adorably at The Cat. The difference this time was as she sat down, a cat box appeared on her lap too.
The Cat immediately became more interested and the eye lasers between the two boxes was almost physical.
“Uh, she’s a she.”
“And a beautiful girl, too. Just look at those spots. Did you go to Egypt for the breed? I hear they are very rare.”
Scott blinked. “Excuse me?” How did she know the cat was from Egypt? Lady Penelope had had to pull quite a few strings to get The Cat into England. Scott’s usual haunts of Australia and New Zealand took one look and gave him a firm ‘no’. One of the downsides of his sudden pet parenthood was the lack of a vet on their island. Crossing borders with an animal was a little bit different from crossing borders with a Thunderbird. Fortunately, Penelope had her ways and here he was.
But how was it obvious The Cat had come from Egypt?
“Oh, but she’s an Egyptian Mau, isn’t she? Those spots are absolutely gorgeous.”
Scott peered at The Cat. The smugness on the denizen of evil had to be a coincidence. But yes, she was a spotty cat. “Honestly, I’m not sure.”
“Really? My Dora is only a Russian Blue, but I adore her anyway. You should find out. You might have an expensive cat.” She frowned. “You didn’t get her from one of those black market types, did you?”
A blink. “Uh, no.”
“I should hope not. There are some people on this planet who do not deserve the honour of life.”
Scott didn’t comment on that.
“Mr Tracy?” Mia the nurse was smiling at him from across the room. “The Vet will see you now.”
Oh, thank god.
He stood up a little faster than necessary and the nurse raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay, sir?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.”
The Cat snorted.
How the hell did a cat snort? He restrained himself from a retort and followed the young woman from the room.
A corridor and a couple of doors later, she ushered him into an examination room. She pointed to a chair. Please take a seat. The vet will be in shortly.”
He did as he was told, sitting on one of two seats in the corner. At the centre sat a metal table obviously for examination.
The nurse set herself up at a computer station on the far side of the small room. He did not fail to notice that she kept eyeing him from time to time.
He was about to say something when a ball of bustling energy burst into the room. Short, compact with a craze of dark curls, the white coated woman hurried up to him. “Mr Tracy, oh my god, it is such a privilege to meet you!” She grabbed his hand before he was even halfway out of his seat. Oh god, a fan.
“Nice to meet you, Doctor…?”
“Oh, I’m Dr Sal Virgilio.” She gazed up at him in only what could be called adoration before apparently snapping herself out of it and diverting to the cat box. “And who do we have today?”
Scott blinked at her name. “Uh, my cat needs a check-up.” He held the box so the small woman could see inside.
The hiss that erupted from its depths wasn’t encouraging.
“Well, you are a spritely one. Let’s get you out on the examination table.” She looked up at him. “What’s the name?”
“Scott.”
She grinned. “The cat’s name, Mr Tracy.”
“Oh, um, Cat?”
The woman had brown eyes very similar to Virgil’s and they seemed to sprout a similar exasperation to his brother’s. To the nurse across the room. “Mia, open a file for Cat Tracy.”
Scott lifted the cat box onto the examination table as directed and cautiously opened the door.
The Cat peered out at him for a moment before stalking out slowly and regally, green eyes taking in the entire room before latching onto the vet.
Laser eyes zapped the poor woman dead where she stood.
But apparently, the vet was used to that kind of weapon because she ignored it. “Okay, little one, let’s check you out.”
The meow The Cat let out could only be described as a threat.
“Really?”
Scott found himself with a gentle hand on The Cat’s back, her fur soft under his fingers as her body twitched. “Uh, she can be touchy.” He hoped he didn’t have to save the vet from his own cat.
“That’s okay, we just need to get to know each other a little better.”
She took a step back and held out a hand, murmuring soft words. The Cat continued to eye her as a threat, but her twitching stilled somewhat.
The vet waited for The Cat to respond.
She waited a while.
A long while.
But eventually, The Cat leant over to sniff her fingers. The vet smiled. “That’s right, honey.”
The Cat opened her mouth and bit the closest finger.
Dr Virgilio jumped back with a squawk. The Cat growled and every hair on her body stuck out at right angles.
“Oi! Stop that!” It was Scott’s turn to growl.
She turned her head and glared up at him. Her entire body dared him to follow through and try to stop her.
His hand was still on her back, so he began stroking hair down. “The doctor is just here to help you.”
Said doctor was rifling through medical supplies looking for a plaster.
“It’s okay, Mr Tracy. Some pets can be difficult during examination.” She swabbed her finger with alcohol and wrapped it up. “She just needs time to acclimate.”
“Can I try?” The nurse on the other side of the room actually had her hand up.
“Sure, Mia. Have at it.”
Mia smiled at Scott again. That smile bugged Scott. It was like she knew something he didn’t.
And apparently she did, because one minute later, she had The Cat purring under her touch. “You are a beautiful girl, aren’t you.” Fingers rubbed The Cat under her chin and she closed her eyes in pleasure.
Scott just stared. Virgil was the only other person to have managed that. She was Scott’s cat, but she was very clear with her boundaries as to what he was allowed to do with her.
Dr Virgilio frowned. “Well, Mia, I think this one is yours. She appears to accept you.”
The Cat hissed at the vet.
“Hey, lovely, that’s just Sal. She’s a teddy bear, don’t you worry.”
The Cat glared up Mia in challenge before snarling at Sal again.
The vet just shrugged. “She knows who she likes. Mia, start a general exam while I fire up the scanner.”
“Yes, Dr Virgilio.”
It was weird hearing that name used on someone else. ‘Virgil’ wasn’t that common. It rarely happened that they came across someone with the same name, and this was only a surname.
Still weird.
The Cat eyed Mia as she began methodically checking her over starting from her nose and working over her body in the direction of her tail. The nurse continued to mutter nonsense comfort words, interspersed with medical reportage to the doctor fiddling with settings on a scanner built into the table top.
Scott recognised the equipment, having used similar in their infirmary, but this one was likely the reverse of why Virgil claimed he couldn’t play vet with their equipment. Sure, his brother had checked The Cat over, even read up on medical procedure for cats, but he had made it very clear he was not a vet.
“She looks healthy, Mr Tracy. Good coat, good muscle tone. Ooh, we have one chipped claw.” The nurse peeled back the fur between The Cat’s left front foot. The tip of one claw could be clearly seen to be missing.
Scott frowned. “How could that have happened?”
Dr Virgilio leaned over to look and The Cat snarled, backing away into Scott.
“Hold still, lovely.” Mia held onto her paw. “Looks to be an old injury.” The nurse looked up at Scott. “You don’t remember this happening?”
“I’ve only had her a short time.” Though it felt much longer.
“Well, it appears to have healed well. Just keep an eye on it.” Dr Virgilio was keeping her distance and attempting to eye the issue at hand.
The Issue at Hand glared at her and snarled.
“Stop that!”
To Scott’s surprise, The Cat actually jumped before turning to look up at him, her eyes narrow.
“Come now, lovely, let’s finish this exam. Then you can snuggle up in your Dad’s lap.”
It was Scott’s turn to be startled. It wasn’t the first time he had been referred to as a parent. Hell, he’d given up correcting Alan’s friends when they were younger. But it had been a while and ‘dad’ would always be a trigger word.
The Cat looked at him again, but this time there was no challenge, just puzzlement.
What was The Cat thinking? She was harder to understand than Alan on a sugar high. Harder than Virgil lost in engineerese or Gordon babbling about fish.
Even harder than John coming home from school and refusing to talk.
The closest comparison was Kayo glaring at him in anger, black eye and all, that time she had gotten into a fight at school defending Alan. It had taken Scott a long time to realise that Kayo used anger as a defence when in truth she was terrified, be it for herself or another.
They both had green eyes.
Great, his sister was a cat.
Nurse Mia finished up the exam while he sat pondering the concepts of pet parenthood versus caring for his family.
The Cat continued to glance up at him and poke at his soul.
She only swiped at the vet one more time and Scott caught her paw. “No, Cat.”
She glared at him, but the paw in his hand relaxed and he let it go.
“She definitely has a connection with you, Mr Tracy. How long have you had her?” The vet frowned up at him.
“Er, a couple of weeks.”
“How are you managing to care for her around your occupation?”
He straightened. “My occupation?”
“You are Scott Tracy, Commander of International Rescue, President of Tracy Industries, are you not? I’m thinking your time is at a premium.”
“We operate as a family, Dr Virgilio. There is always someone available to care for all family members.” Okay, so he had just declared the spawn of evil a family member, but then Alan and Gordon were part of the same family so it was nothing new.
And besides, The Cat tolerated Grandma almost as much as she did Virgil. It was a wise move. Grandma couldn’t burn cat food, after all, and she was often the only one available to feed her.
The vet switched on the scanner and The Cat jumped again as a hologram appeared above her head. The hologram immediately became the enemy and The Cat attacked. Fortunately or unfortunately, the hologram moved as she did, so each time she reached up, so did the hologram.
Mia the nurse was glared at as she tried to hold her still. “C’mon, lovely, you are doing so well.”
The Cat merrowed in protest.
“Yes, well, it has to be done to make sure you are well.”
Dr Virgilio was eyeing the read outs. “She looks well. Body systems appear healthy. She is an entire female, so you will have to consider sterilisation.” She ran her fingers over the controls and the hologram changed, shifting scan. She noted a few things.
Scott, more used to the human form, frowned at the display. It looked like he should be able to understand it, but couldn’t. Nothing was quite in the right place.
“She’s not microchipped. Are you aware of any vaccination history?”
Scott’s shoulders dropped just a little, shaking his head. “I have no knowledge of her medical history.”
“Then we will prep the full spectrum. Mia, could you prepare?”
“Yes, Sal.”
And Scott suddenly found his arms full of pissed off feline as Mia gently let her go. She climbed up his shirt and stabbed him with her claws through the thin material. Her face was suddenly in his and those green eyes pleading.
Time froze for a moment, his memory taking him back to a young Kayo so angry, so scared, clinging to her father’s pants as his Dad introduced her to him and his brothers.
The Cat had that same expression and his heart lurched. He found his arms around her. “It’s okay.” He drew her close.
“Mr Tracy, I have to warn you that she is unlikely to react well to the procedure.”
“Needles?” He sighed when she nodded. “I have four younger brothers, doctor. It won’t be the first time.”
Alan had been the hardest. He was responsible for his youngest brother at the age of eleven. There had been enough inoculations and blood tests to tackle that he had become experienced. Didn’t make it any easier to see his littlest brother hurting.
Gordon was a whole different kettle of fish. Gordon had already been to hell and back several times so needles were disregarded as nothing. At least that was what he wanted everyone else to believe. Scott knew better. Every medical procedure risked triggering unpleasant memories so all needles were treated warily.
John hid, but once persuaded, took it all stoically and logically and why would I neglect such an important medical procedure, Scott?
Ironically, it was Virgil who was the worst. For a man who literally practised medicine, the most pedantic in chasing up everyone else, the bear was a wuss when it came to needles.
Scott was the one who had to hunt him down and it often took Gordon’s muscles as well as his own to wrestle the man into a tetanus shot. Grandma frowned every time and shook her head. It was like the medic had two brains, one logical and the other manic.
Kayo, on the other hand, would walk up, roll up her sleeve and take the shot without a problem, and then spend the rest of the day in a foul mood. There had been both furniture and Tracy casualties in the past.
The Cat snuggled against his chest, the odd pitiful sound emitting against the cotton of his shirt.
As for himself, he had never been a fan of needles, but he was the eldest. He looked after himself.
The Virgil at the back of his head scoffed at that statement.
Shut up, you can’t talk.
So, yeah, needles, not a Tracy favourite. Cat Tracy would likely be no different. Gotta keep the family tradition.
Nurse Mia brought a tray over to the table. An array of hypodermics were laid out ready for use. Scott’s eyes widened at the size of one of them. He felt like asking why they were going to stick his cat with the prong of a pitchfork, but he was the Commander of International Rescue, he could do this.
Sorry, Cat.
It was like saying sorry to Virgil as he held him down and Grandma stabbed him in the arm.
Necessary evil.
There were a lot of those in his life.
“Did you want to hold her?” Dr Virgilio’s expression was understanding. When he nodded, she directed him to a chair. “It is likely she won’t react well. Try to keep her calm. I will try to be as gentle as possible.”
Scott found himself stroking The Cat and murmuring the same litany he might try for an injured child in the field.
She looked up at him, those green eyes again catching him in their depths.
He had no idea why she had attached to him. Other than the country involved, he had no idea how she had found him, how she had managed to get aboard his ‘bird – Brains was still trying to work it out; the best guess being that she had jumped onto the back of his chair as he retracted it back into One, but why was definitely still a mystery.
Mia reached in and snagged The Cat’s rear left leg. The vet swooped in before she could react and The Cat cried out. She struggled, claws digging again into his chest enough to cause him to grit his teeth. But again, the pair dove in, grabbed another leg and his heart hurt as she cried again.
He stroked her, muttering quietly.
The nurse held this leg a moment longer and the vet reached in with an empty hypodermic.
Scott clutched Cat to him as the Vet drew blood.
Cat was shaking.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to reassure, Cat or himself.
Fingers reached in and caught her scruff. A spray of something that smelt chemical and she flinched away, meowing.
He saw the needle coming and held her tight. It was huge! He fought the urge to back away himself.
“Nearly done, Mr Tracy.”
A hand touched his shoulder and his peripheral senses registered the nurse holding him still.
Cat cried out and drew blood through his shirt. This one took longer and Scott cringed.
Then it was over.
Cat continued to shake in his arms and, as the vet turned away and the nurse gathered the remains on the tray, Scott found himself clinging to The Cat as much as she was to him. His hand stroked her head gently, he was quietly muttering down to her.
His heart was beating a mile a minute.
The Commander of International Rescue he was not.
Stupid Cat.
He only held her tighter.
“Mr Tracy? Are you okay?”
He looked up at the nurse and realised he was rocking on the spot. “I’m fine.”
“She really trusts you.”
A blink. “Huh?”
“Cats usually try to escape. She is clinging to you.” She frowned at his shirt. “You should swab them with alcohol. Cat scratches can get nasty if not attended to.”
He looked down. There were specks of blood soaking through his shirt. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay, Mr Tracy. Her microchip is responding. I will email you a copy of what we have done today and send you her blood results when they come through. I’ll include her microchip details and who you need to contact should you change address. Keep an eye on the injection sites. Watch for any persistent swelling. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.”
He was still sitting with His Cat cradled in his arms.
He needed to move.
He rose to his feet and Cat responded by pulling out one set of claws and jabbing him in a new spot.
He didn’t care.
“Did you want to return her to her carrier?” The nurse was frowning up at him.
“No, no, she’s good where she is.” He didn’t want to let go.
“Are you sure? The waiting room contains dogs.”
Cat was curled up under his chin. “We’ll be fine.”
Nurse Mia stared at him a moment. “You will want to hold on to her tightly. We can’t be held responsible if she gets loose.”
Commander voice. “We’ll be fine.”
She held his gaze a moment longer. He had to give her credit for that. Most would have fled by now. She picked up the cat carrier and held open the door.
“Mr Tracy?”
He turned to find the tiny vet staring up at him. “You did good. I can see why you are so good at what you do.”
He blinked and cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
She smiled just a little. “Stay safe, Mr Tracy, and let us know if you need any help with Cat.”
Cat hissed in her direction.
“FAB.”
Her eyes widened and her smile spread.
Definitely a fan.
Despite everything, he found himself smiling in return.
Nurse Mia led him back to reception. He found a familiar figure leaning against the desk. Dressed in his usual casual red flannel, Virgil appeared to be having an energetic discussion with another nurse. The moment he caught sight of Scott, however, he straightened and narrowed in on his brother.
“Hey, you look beat.” His eyes tracked over bloodstains and Cat who was still curled up in his arms. “Aww, rough time.”
“Immunization.”
Virgil winced.
“Blood test.”
Virgil grimaced.
“Microchip.”
“Oh god, honey.” His hand hovered over Cat but didn’t quite touch her. “Well, I guess some treats are due tonight and a little pampering.”
“Could you grab my credit card.”
Virgil arched an eyebrow and reaching around,pulled Scott’s wallet out of his back pocket. “We talking the black one?”
“Yeah. Whatever it costs.” Nurse Mia’s eyes were bouncing between the two of them.
Scott stroked Cat’s head.
Virgil finished up the bill and grabbed the cat box. Scott wasn’t paying much attention. He found himself out the front of the vet surgery, Virgil loading the box into a Tracy fleet car.
“I have Two at the airfield.” He eyed Cat. “Want me to drive?”
Distracted, staring down at Cat who had finally stopped shaking and was now hesitantly peering out at the world around her. “Sure.”
There was an eyebrow raised at that. So, he was usually a control freak, big deal.
He climbed carefully into the passenger side of the car while Virgil hopped behind the steering wheel.
“So, I guess I have a new sister.”
“What?” Scott looked up as Virgil pulled the car away from the curb.
“You have that same expression when any of us are hurt. I’ve seen you hold Allie like that.”
Scott glared. “She’s a cat.”
Virgil shrugged. “Sure. But she’s also family.” It was said daring him to deny it.
His shoulders dropped and he looked down at the spotted furball in his arms.
Green, mischievous eyes peered back up at him.
Quietly. “Yeah, she is.”
-o-o-o-
FIN.
#thunderbirds are go#thunderbirds#thunderbirds fanfiction#Scott Tracy#Virgil Tracy#nuttys fandomversary
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