She saw him coming, he was way to slow for her. She moved quickly out of the way but he still hit her. He attacked with what strength he had. She viewed him as no threat but still put him in his place, she struck his back and he cried out in pain then threw him against a wall. She watched as he tried to stand. She decided to finish him, it wouldn't take much. Then she realized something, he had done this on purpose. He was showing her his determination in keeping his daughter, even if it meant his death. This amused to almost the point of laughing. What a pathetic attempt.
"Do not stand, you have made your point; I will not harm Ezmerelda. Go tend to your wounds; remember to bring her here tomorrow if you are able. My associates will be in touch."
He walked up to her and looked her in the eye but said nothing then limped out, oh God he felt every pain and movement of muscle. This was something that was going to take time to heal, but his plan had worked, for now.
As he sat in the car he knew he was in trouble, Ezzy was in trouble and he didn't know how to fix it. She still didn't trust him in the location of the laboratory, the blindfold proved that. He had to figure out a way to get Ezzy to safety. They left him at his car; then he drove home at breakneck speed. He flew into the house but knew immediately that something was wrong. As he opened the door to the garage he knew that she was gone. The bitch had this planned all along; he fell to his knees and wept.
"Let me out of here you blue bitch!" Ezzy screamed from the cage that contained her.
"My, my, you're a feisty one." Mother said with a sly tone.
"My Dad will get you!"
"Your father is just realizing that you are gone, and that I lied to him." She smirked.
Ezzy didn't want to hear that. "He'll come for me!"
Mother put her evil face close to the cage as possible, Ezzy could see the vast and endless darkness in Mother's eyes, "He would if he knew where you were, but he doesn't." Her teeth shone white, with her evil smile. "If you behave you may get to see him again." Ezzy stepped back to the rear of the cage as she watched Mother's long tongue caress her enormous fangs. She had never been this frightened before.
Mother looked at the file closely and found that it hadn't been updated in over two years. Obviously not much had been going on, she hoped. She was surprised that her experiment had gone on longer than she had anticipated. This experiment she did remember, the others were a bit vague but this one had stuck in the back of her mind. The Skunktaur was something different and she and the documentation believed that it wouldn't survive. However she had been wrong, in fact extremely wrong.
It was rare for her to be so mistaken, but this little female 'taur had proven her worth. She had known there was a flaw in her muscle tissue and that walking would almost be impossible for her. She had predicted that there was a chance that she could walk but only with extensive training and constant working of her muscles. However this required too much time for her to expend. She had two other fine experiments working and she had to concentrate on them. Now however she had time and she wanted to know what was going on with this young woman now.
She pushed her intercom button and asked for Norman to come in. However it wasn't Norman who came through the door. It was someone she hadn't seen in years. She had forgotten that all her main troops weren't dead and this person stood out in her memory. The large white tiger was not a figment of her imagination as she had thought.
"It's been a long time Mother." David White said, uncertain if she would remember him. Although he was sure by the look on her face she did.
"I thought you'd be dead by now." She ribbed him.
"Reports of my death were extremely exaggerated. You look good in blue and those fangs are quite the touch."
"Oh you haven't seen it all." She showed him her manicured bone claws protruding from her knuckles and her tail that had gone from bushy to extremely short haired with a bony club at the end.
"That is quite a the piece of tail." He smiled.
"That it is." She smiled at her once bodyguard, it now had come all back to her. Time had been good to the huge white tiger. "So what brings you around, David?"
"I had heard that you were back and I had to see you for one last time. Plus you gave me something I was to give to you. Your computer let me know that you required the package." He held out a large gold envelope. It had only two words on it, "The Farm." She took it and placed it on her desk.
"Do you know what's in it?"
"Not a clue, but everything about you is a mystery." He grinned. "I guess while I'm here I was wondering if I could get another dose of that strength elixir. You told me that by the time you had awakened, its effects probably would have worn off; I believe they have." He flexed his bicep, which still showed a very strong arm.
"Doesn't look too bad, from this point of view." Mother said purring. "I think I can do that for you, if you would do me a little favor as well."
"Depends on what it is."
"Think you can get me off." She rubbed up against him, her passion mounting.
Dave cleared his throat. He hadn't done it in awhile but he was sure he could do it. "Yes I suppose I could but could I have the shot first. It might be to your benefit." He winked.
"Done!" She took his arm and off to the lab they went.
A few hours later she came back to her den, a bit sore all round but extremely satisfied. She was tempted to look inside the envelope that David had brought but she needed information on the Skunktaur first. She called for Norman and this time he did arrive. She explained to him what she wanted and he went on his way to get what she needed. She again looked at the envelope but put it aside once again. It would have to wait; right now she needed to modify a certain container to fulfil her needs.
Canada present day: Mercy General Hospital
Heather opened her eyes to what she thought was going to be the store. She had had this weird dream that she was elsewhere and Hector was there of all things. The room she was staring at now was like the other, sterile and not much to look at. However who should be sitting in a chair next to her but Hector. She thought maybe that she was having that dream again. He was reading unaware that she was conscious. She tried to say something but it came out really funny but it definitely got his attention. She saw him reaching for something and the expression on his face showed great concern.
"Hector." She tried to say, but again it came out not the way she intended.
Hector's face lit up with joy, "Oh Heather you don't how glad I am to hear that voice of yours." He leaned over and gently kissed her. To see her awake made his heart pump with excitement, maybe she would be ok, he had prayed hard and now it seems it had paid off.
A nurse entered the room, Heather thought it must have been Hector who summoned her. "Hospital?" Heather slurred, this was turning out just like the other dream.
They both caught the word but it was difficult to understand. "Yes Heather, you are in a hospital. You've taken ill and we are doing everything to help make you feel better and comfortable." Said the female raccoon.
"Oh." She said. "What's happened to me?" she tried to ask but every word came out garbled. Again she tried but still with the same result. "Must be something in my mouth", she thought and reached up to try and feel. However a restraint stopped her, she tried again harder, nothing. Panic started to set in as she started to struggle against them.
"Heather calm down." She faintly heard Hectors voice, but the feeling of being trapped overwhelmed her and made things horribly worse. The nurse yelled for more help and it quickly arrived. They took their positions trying to hold Heather down while one barked for a sedative. Heather's thrashing was putting them through their paces. One nurse departed to retrieve one and was back almost in an instant. It didn't take long for it to take effect and Heather's body relaxed once again.
"Lets hope she didn't hurt anything." The nurse said trying to compose herself. "She's a strong one."
"Yeah" Hector said, he didn't like seeing Heather this way, he saw the terror in her face and felt helpless. "How long will it last?"
"On her, not long. We're not allowed to administer strong doses to patients. We'll alert the doctor and she'll be here when she awakes the next time."
"Ok." Hector sat back into the chair and opened his book again. Already he could see that Heather had partial paralysis of her face. Now the question was how much of it was permanent.
Heather awoke again, this time Hector was talking with a female black leopard. This had to be some horrible nightmare. She tried to get their attention with words but again they were not right, but it worked. The Leopard looked at her with a big smile.
"Hello Heather, I'm Doctor Pelikaa. Can you understand me?" Heather tried to answer but things again came out garbled, however the doctor understood what she was trying to say.
"I understand, it's nice to meet you to. But I want you to listen to me closely, Heather, ok? Don't try to move; just listen, just nod to answer." She smiled and her voice was soothing, Heather relaxed some. "Good, ok; first off you are in Mercy General Hospital and have been here almost two weeks." Heather's eyes opened wide. "Don't panic, please, everything is ok. I will explain everything."
A million thoughts went through her head, she thought again about struggling but ruled against it. "Good, now to what's happened, you have had a stroke Heather." She stopped and let that sink in then continued. "It has also left you partially paralyzed."
Heather jerked at the restraints the minute the she heard the word. Which startled both Hector and the doctor.
"Heather, calm down, I know what I just said is frightening just let me tell you everything. You're just going to hurt yourself." She put her paw through Heather's hair and gently petted her. It had a calming effect on her, which pleased the doctor. "Good, that's good Heather; just relax. We're all friends here. Nothing is going to hurt you. Let me explain; your parents brought you here after finding you collapsed on the floor of your store. It took us awhile to determine that you had a stroke. A stroke, Heather, is a short circuit in the brain and it causes all sorts of problems. They are normally caused by blood clots in the arteries in the brain. You with me so far?" Heather nodded weakly, although she didn't like the sound of this one bit.
The doctor continued, "In your case we're not sure what's happened. All the classic signs are there but there are no actual obstructions we can find. You've been unconscious most of the time, so you weren't very co-operative." She smiled and Heather nodded. "Good, we will begin the assessment later, right now I just wanted to let you know what is going on."
Heather nodded but she began to cry, wetting her pillowcase with her tears. The doctor grabbed a tissue and wiped at them as best she could. "It's ok Heather, you're in good paws. Here let me do something." She removed the restraints from Heather's arms and brought up her paw for her to see. "See, wiggle your fingers for me." Heather tried and sure enough her fingers wiggled back. "There you see no big problem. However you need your rest now." Heather's tears stopped. "Good, that's better. I'm betting your young friend here has a lot to tell you." The doctor turned to Hector. "She's all yours."
"Thanks." Hector gave the Doctor a wink and she waved to them as she left and Hector turned quickly back to Heather. "Oh boy, have we missed you." Hectors smile could cheer anyone up. She tried to respond but things just came out garbled, her disappointment showed enormously. She hid her face in her pillow.
"Heather, hey look at me." Heather pulled her face from the soft pillow to stare at Hector. "It's ok. You've had something major happen to you, it's gonna take time to adjust." He smiled, "And I'll be right here for you." He started getting nervous, as he always did when he wanted to talk serious with her. But this time he was going to go on, this time things were just too close. "Heather…..I…don't want to lose you, your being away has shown me something that I took for granted."
Heather's ears perked up at this, for this was a side of Hector she hadn't really seen. She had always found him shy when he was around and she was certain that he had enjoyed the dates they had gone on. Now it looked as though those dates meant a great deal more to him than she thought. She was glad though for she liked him and seeing him here put the last straw in the hat, so to speak. She wanted to hear more and listened intently.
"What I meant to say was that I thought about seeing more of you." He realized as it came out of his mouth what that sounded like. "I mean together…..ah……not more of you physically. Oh man foot in the mouth must run in our family. Heather……I.. I love you." He bowed his head; there he had said it. He had put all his cards on the table, now he waited the verdict. Into his vision came Heather's paw reaching out for his. He took it gently and raised his head to look right into Heather's awaiting face. She smiled, he noticed it wasn't perfect anymore but he saw the joy behind it. She purred and nodded to him.
"Really!!" She nodded again and coaxed him closer, once in range she gave him a kiss. It was a bit sloppy but it was what it represented that made his heart soar. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he was afraid it would burst. "She loves me", he thought as he stared into her beautiful face. That was until she poked him. "Huh?? Oh sorry Heather, I spaced out there for a moment, you're just too wonderful for words."
Oh boy, Heather thought, what have I done? She let out a slight giggle.
Hector regained his sanity but his heart was still beating a mile a minute. He explained to Heather what had been going on during her absence. The store was still up and running, thanks to her father allowing him to take charge. Sabrina and her boyfriend Max, had been doing things during the day. Hector had been doing things in the evening, things that Max couldn't fix. Sabrina had also been staying late getting advice as to what to order for the store and learning a few things about putting a system together. It was working well, but it still lacked one thing, Heather.
With Heather looking somewhat better and awake, Hector thought it best that they call home.
Hector explained that Heather would really only be able to listen to the conversation. It didn't matter, Mrs. White was so excited she could hardly speak through all her tears and sobbing. They told him to stay there; they were on their way. He told them he wasn't going anywhere.
She listened to Hector talk but all the while trying things. She found that her right side was sluggish, she could move most things but they responded slowly. She felt her face and felt the numbness; it depressed her. She knew it was going to be a long road to recovery. However she looked at Hector and smiled, knowing now that he was by her side and that he loved her made all the difference. She squeezed his paw and he smiled and gently squeezed back.
6 days later
Sid opened the doctor's door for his wife, they were both extremely apprehensive at having this meeting, since talking with Heather."
"Hello." Nancy said announcing herself.
"Come in." Said a friendly voice of a lovely young foxtaur. Nancy was surprised at the young fur, for in one word she was gorgeous. Her fur shone red as red can be; she had to be doing modeling on the side Nancy thought. "Please come in and sit Mr. and Mrs. White." Even her voice sparkled Nancy noticed, impressed wasn't the word. Sid moved up and beside his wife, his impressions of the young doctor pretty much matched his wife's, he almost whistled to his embarrassment.
"I'm Dr Donna Blitzen, I'm in charge of the physiotherapy department here in the hospital."
"It's nice to meet you, Doctor." Sid said extending a paw; he was nervous and trying to hide his emotions for this lovely beauty standing in front of him. They both sat and waited nervously to hear what the doctor had to say.
"I'm sure you are anxious to learn what I have to say about Heather's condition." She smiled trying to put at ease the fears the White's had.
"Heather told of the tests she had to do, she is very upset." Nancy said remembering Heather's teary-eyed face, she struggled to hold back her own. "I found it hard to talk with her, she got so frightened." A tear escaped and Nancy wiped it away. Sid took his wife's paw to console her and support her. He was also teetering on tears as well, Heather's cries had already shaken him. He feared the worst.
"I can imagine what she said Mrs. White but you must understand those tests were to determine what Heather can and cannot do. Not to judge against what she could do before. To us there is no before, just the here and now."
Sid noticed that Dr Blitzen was being firm in her statements, for she knew more about Heather's condition than they did. "We understand." Sid said. "But she said she didn't do very good."
Dr. Blitzen pulled out a file from the pile on her desk and opened it. "Mr. & Mrs. White I've gone over Heather's results and I'm very positive about them." Sid and Nancy's eyes opened wide.
"Really!" They said in unison, totally surprised.
Dr. Blitzen gave a slight chuckle, "Yes; however, there is a lot of work to be done. Here's what the report basically outlines. Heather's right side was the most effected by the stroke; the muscles in her face and arm on that side are very weak. But I think that with some exercises we can strengthen them again. I will stress right now that some loss is permanent." She paused. "She will never regain the full strength of the right side, I'm sorry."
"Well it's better than what we pictured." Sid said with a weak smile, he still understood that this was serious. Sid glanced at his wife and saw the beauty that he married so long ago; he thanked God for her.
"Yes now we come to a bit of a problem, Heather's bottom right side cannot support her weight. She has to rely on her left side to try and counter balance to stand."
Sid and Nancy looked at each other, this was what had Heather so upset and it was hard to speak of. "She told us; she thinks she is paralyzed." Nancy spoke.
"It certainly is a problem but one that can be solved." The doctor got up and came around and shifted to show the Whites her left side. Nancy and Sid just stared, for on the foxtaur's left legs were braces, long tubes like air shocks. This is what will have to be done with Heather, they are not the prettiest things in the world but they allow me to walk. Three years ago I was hit by a car, shattering the bones in my two left legs bad enough so that they were not strong enough to support my full weight. This was the solution they offered me. They work; that's about all I can say for them. I cannot run but I can walk, which is better than the alternative."
"They are permanent?" Sid asked.
"Yes in my case and Heather's they will be." Heather's problem isn't her bones it's her muscles; we can alter the strength to allow Heather's body to adapt but she will never have enough strength in her right legs to support her entire weight."
"When would you do the operation?" Nancy asked.
"That depends when we can get her off the respirator. She is not responding well on that front. We will have to wait and see."
"I see." Nancy smiled.
"Mr. and Mrs. White, Heather will be able to walk again on her own power but it's going to take time." This reassurance caused them to break into tears. "She'll need crutches for awhile but later she shouldn't need them. I will be going over this with Heather this afternoon but I thought it best that I told you first. Heather is strong and young, she'll be fine."
Sid took his wife into his arms and joined her in a good cry. They now knew that Heather although still not out of the woods would be better in time.
US Present Day.
It had taken a week to organize schedules and get the plane. Ti had informed her parents and Richard of what had transpired. To say they were all shocked was an understatement. They wanted to know everything, Ti said she would try to get all the information she could and take some pictures. She promptly bought a digital camera and began taking photos and sending them to Richard via Endora's computer. She also told them that she and her sisters were going to Canada to visit her remaining family. Frank was made aware of the reunion and arranged to have Tabitha stay with his parents. Now they were almost ready to leave. Zig Zag and her troop had an engagement in Toronto and would be flying on. It was an open engagement and would be in touch with Sabrina later on in the week. Everyone had a lot of catching up to do and they wanted time to go sight seeing. Ti and Swallow desperately wanted to meet their long lost sister. They were both pleased to hear that things were looking up for her though.
The turbo prop plane was quite spacious for its size Ti noticed. She thought it would have been quite cramped with everyone on board but it had worked out nicely. The whole idea of chartering the plane had been Zig Zag's. She had promised Sabrina a trip to Ottawa anyway.
The trip itself wasn't going to be very long, only a couple of hours. However they would be arriving in Ottawa at 2:30 in the morning. Darkness surrounded the plane; all you could see was what lights the airport had on. Ti looked at all the passengers but one especially got her attention. Swallow just kept staring out the window, with her fur all on end. She looked quite funny Ti thought. She went and sat beside her, it was obvious that she didn't take any notice.
"Swallow!" Ti spoke.
"AAAHHHHHH!" Swallow said in fright, which had now transformed her into a giant black and white pincushion. "Ti, don't sneak up on me like that."
Ti had to suppress a giggle, "Sorry but I thought you might have need of these." She put out her paw and in it were two pills.
"What are those?"
"Just something to help you relax. I can see you are really nervous."
"Nervous doesn't really describe the way I'm feeling right now. At first I thought flying would be fun but now I'm not too sure." She took the pills from Ti and swallowed them. "These had better work or you're going to have a very frantic skunk at 30,000 feet." She wasn't kidding.
"They will, don't worry; however they aren't too strong. Just try to stay calm; it's not a very long flight. I'll come and sit with you before we take off. Everything is going to be fine, it's just like a car ride." She took her sister's paw and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Thanks." Swallow smiled.
Ti took off and went to talk with Sabrina. She found her talking with Sheila Vixen, a very nice vixen who liked her work. "Hi, how's everyone back here?"
"Good, and you?" inquired Sabrina.
"A bit nervous; I'm not overly fond of flying. How about you Sheila?"
Sheila smiled nervously at the gentle giant. She had almost wet herself the first time she had met her in the lobby of the studio. "Fine, Ti, about the same as you." She had now gotten used to seeing the giant and her thoughts strayed to the delightful possibilities Ti presented.
"That's good, we are going to be quite a group all of us together. I hope to get a photographer out to take some shots of us. It will be a unique opportunity." Ti said sighing at the flash bulb blindness they were about to be exposed to.
"You can say that again, Ti. It will be good to see my sister again." Sabrina said. "And see Heather also now that she has come around."
"Yes I was never so relieved to hear that." Ti said relieved as to her sister's well being. "Although I don't like what your sister said about Heather having to have braces."
"Yeah that didn't sound too good."
It was just then that voice of the captain came over the speakers announcing that they would soon be departing and would everyone take their seats and put on his or her seatbelts. Ti returned to Swallow and took her seat. She didn't look any less nervous. Ti took her paw in hers and held it tight.
Swallow gulped as the plane began to move. Her grip became tighter but Ti was not about to let go.
Canada: Ottawa Airport very early or very late as you see it. (Yawn!)
"Yawn!" Sabrina Johnston put her paw up to her mouth as she tried to stay awake. Why did they have to come in this early in the morning, she thought. It had been a week of planning and all they could come up with was almost 3 am! She looked about but there wasn't a soul around except for a few janitors. Not everyone could make it, Heather's parents desperately wanted to be here but they had spent so much time at the hospital they were exhausted. Everyone understood; Heather was their first priority. Sabrina watched her mother pace; she was the most nervous of the bunch. She couldn't blame her with all that had gone on in the past few months. It was then that the gate's doors opened and out came a stream of people; then they spied Endora followed by Sabrina then another skunkette who just had to be Swallow. However the giant Ti was nowhere to be seen. They couldn't have missed her.
"Endora it's good to see you finally." Said Margrette who put out her arms to hug her best friend.
"It seems like a long time, Margrette." Endora said in the arms of her friend.
"Too long, Endy." She rubbed her face into her friend's fur and basked in her scent. As they parted Endora turned to her new addition to the family.
"Everyone this is Swallow, your long lost sister and of course you all know Sabrina. And Ti is somewhere back there."
"Hi." Swallow said softly, all she could think of was that she didn't want back on that plane.
"Come on Swallow give your sister a hug." Sabrina said gently pushing Swallow towards Sabrina.
"Hi Swallow, welcome to Canada." Sabrina Johnston gave her new sister a gentle hug. Swallow wasn't really sure what to do so she gave a slight one back. Her nerves were all on end and she was almost to the point she thought she might faint.
"Looks like we're the 3 musketeers now." Said Sabrina.
"It looks like it but it's more like Skunketeers." Said Sabrina Johnston as she grinned and Sabrina moaned.
"Ah.…what happened to Ti?" She inquired.
"Oh she's here but customs wanted to check her bags. She's a bit of an attraction for everyfur if you know what I mean. She shouldn't be long; wait till you see her." Sabrina said.
"I can just bet, I saw the pictures you sent. My new computer works great; Heather is a genius with those things. It's fantastic, she knows those things inside and out."
It wasn't long after the doors opened again and Ti stepped out carrying her luggage. Sabrina Johnston and Margrette's jaws almost hit the floor.
Everyone just stood and stared; they hadn't seen anyone that size before. She was even bigger than Kathren and she was big. Kathren had seen people Ti's size before but she was still amazed. Endora made introductions and the whole group talked for about a half an hour. Eventually they made their way to the vehicles. Margrette had rented a Ford Excursion for the journey. It was one of the largest trucks on the market. Finding one had been a bit of a chore but they had given the rental company plenty of time to come up with it. Plus she negotiated a good deal for the two months. So there was room for everyone in the truck. The whole trip back was one big gab session.