While the Hawaiian team touched down and went to work, those that returned from the East Coast began to sort through some of the recent developments while they were out.
"Where did you find him?" Nikole asked to Casey as shi, Jess, Janace, and Sally sat quietly talking over things.
"Sssweden," Casey asked, "apparently whatever fissssssshing tournament he wassssssssssssss in wassssssssssss rougher than he imagined... or he got losssssssst sssssomewhere asssssssssss we found him an hour outsssssssssside Sssssssssstockholm."
"It'd be good for Charlie and Brent to be with their dad again," Jess commented, "Like Sally and I worked to find mom..."
Sally nodded in agreement, though a part of hir found it a bit odd that they and their mates had had parents who had seemingly vanished. Janace off to explore Antarctica and Charles Wise senior following various international fishing tournaments. Though there were obvious differences between the two. Janace's separation from Justin at the time had been rather peaceful, and from what Sally and Jess remembered, had sounded as though neither of their parents wanted the divorce to happen. Nikole's divorce with Charles Wise Senior was not as peaceful as Justin and Janace's and was a subject that even Jess didn't want get to get into. But they knew that Charles Wise had had a decent relationship with his sons.
"Why did you go looking for him?" Nikole asked.
"I asked hir to, Nikole," Janace spoke from where shi was sitting, "Your soughters need their father just as much as my soughters needed me."
"Charlie is a hundred times better a father and husband than hir father ever was," Nikole answered.
"And just as good a mother as you," Sally commented.
And with this, Janace sighed heavily. Shi knew about Nikole and Charles Wise Senior's divorce, it had not been particularly easy particularly due to the fact that Charles Wise had proven not to be a loyal husband. Janace remembered talking with Nikole when Charlie and Sally were both ten and learning that Nikole had come home one evening to find hir husband involved with some random woman half his age. The divorce came soon after and Nikole never forgave Charles Wise Senior. About the only thing that Nikole did allow was to let Charles Wise Senior do was visit with his sons from time to time, but Janace noticed there was always some tension in the air when he visited.
"Nikole... I'd thought you'd accepted Charlie and Brent's love for their father," Janace sighed.
"Can I accept that he loves his "sons," yes, can I forgive him for cheating on me? No," Nikole grumbled, "Jess is a far better husband and father than Charles ever was and shi was born female."
Jess couldn't help but smile at the compliment, but tried to hide it a bit. Shi did however place one hand on Nikole's shoulder. Shi understood what hir mother was doing and new that Charlie and Brent did deserve to be reunited with their father. He may have hurt Nikole in the past, and the protective part of hir was more than ready do anything if it meant making Nikole happy, but but Charlie and Brent did deserve their father.
"You know he can't hurt you again, right?" Jess asked to Nikole, scouting closer to hir mate to let her comfort Nikole as much as shi could.
"I know," Nikole sighed, "and I know he loved Charlie and Brent when they were human... but he "vanished" well before the Fee City outbreak. What will he do when he finds out his eldest son is now his eldest soughter and is both a father and mother and that his youngest son is also a soughter now and is also going to be a mother? What if he can't accept that? What if he hurts my babies?"
"They're big gurls," Sally commented, "he can't hurt them."
"And it's something that will have to be done," Janace commented, "Charlie and Brent will be fine... and if they never meet their father again, you'll never know as to whether or not he'll accept them as they are now."
"And who knowssssssss," Casey commented, "he wasssssss barely consssssssssssssccccccccccccccious when Rylesssssssssssssss and I found him," Casey spoke up from where shi was, "Ssssssssssssomething might have changed him out there..."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Charlie and Brent, meanwhile sat in the room where their father was. It had been so long since either of them had seen him, and they had both changed greatly since then, and the physical changes were rather obvious.
"It's been so long since we saw him," Charlie said softly to hir sither, "he went on that fishing tour... ranging from Sweden to Finland and... I think Norway was well."
"I think he went to Norway first," Brent commented, "I actually spent some time trying to find him... apparently there was some storm that he went into in Norway... but Casey and Ryles told us that they found him near Stockholm which is nowhere NEAR Norway..."
"Maybe he ran into someone that didn't like him," Charlie commented, "dad was always rather competitive with regard to fishing. And... well... I think he honestly had a Kat's lust even before a Chakat existed."
"He might fit in well here then," Brent gave a chuckle, "Just about everyone has sex fairly frequently here."
Charlie gave a nod. Sex was something Kats enjoyed very much, though for the most part, with their strong noses they could also make sure their sex didn't result in a pregnancy if a pregnancy wasn't desired. The main difference between the Kats in Janace, or any other place where there were vaccinated Kats was that when they mated, one could often hear frequent cries of "I love you" going along with the lovemaking. As shi nodded, Charlie noticed the young Eusmilus based Chakat sleeping on the back of Brent's exoskeleton of hir more scorpion-like taur half.
"I see you picked up a little one," Charlie commented as shi noticed Kila sleeping there.
"Oh... yes..." Brent nodded, "Hir mother threw hir out in New York, and I... I couldn't leave hir."
"All those nice mommy things coming to the fore, eh?" Charlie gave a giggle.
"Mommy things?" Brent asked.
"You know... how mom was always there for us whenever we got hurt, were sad or scared, needed reassurance, and wanted us to be happy," Charlie answered, "Shoot... mom wanted to make me a Kat in the Fee City outbreak because shi thought I was sad and lonely and would be happier as a Kat..."
Brent looked over to Kila and then over to hir sither. Shi then eventually felt Charlie touch hir upper shoulder (through the sensory hairs that poked through hir exoskeleton in places).
"And the way I've felt towards my soughters, and not just the three I gave birth to," Charlie continued, "but the Kats that Sally gave birth to and the Kats we've adopted. I love them and want them to be happy. I want to console them when they sad, reassure them when they're losing confidence, care for them when they're hurt... and I worry about them when they're in danger..."
"Dad probably wasn't that different, he loved us too," Brent pointed out.
"Yes... but dad's love felt different," Charlie shrugged, "and I feel that sort of love for my kids too... but I also feel the exact same sort of love that mom felt toward us... one the benefits of being a hermaphrodites and having both genders and experiencing things from both angles."
Brent noticed the wistful tone that Charlie's voice took at the end. Of course Charlie had been a Kat for now more than twelve years and had been pregnant twice. Shi had fully gotten used to being a Kat and had experience with it. Brent then looked to Kila, still sleeping on hir back. As Brent looked to the young Chakat, who looked to be six years old at the oldest, shi realized shi looked at Kila that shi loved the little Kat in the same way Nikole loved them.
"I really am turning into a mother," Brent said slowly and then rubbed Kila's head with a hand.
"Yep," Charlie smiled, "Isn't it a wonderful feeling?"
"Yes," Brent agreed and then turned hir torso to Kila, "Come on little one, there's a Kat I want you to meet."
"Momma?" Kila spoke as shi began to uncurl hir body on Brent's back.
"There's a Kat I want you to meet," Brent repeated and motioned to Charlie with hir pincers.
Kila looked up to Charlie, noticed Charlie's upper canines and became curious. As hir eyes widened, Brent began the introductions.
"Kila, this is your Auncle (combination of Aunt and Uncle) Charlie, shi is my sither," Brent spoke, "Charlie, this is my soughter, Kila."
"Hello Kila," Charlie said in a friendly voice, "I hope you know you couldn't have picked a better Kat to raise you. I know that Brent will love you very much."
"You look like me," Kila said to Charlie, noticing Charlie's sabers.
Charlie nodded a little bit. The exact species of Manticore that Elise had found had apparently been saber toothed, which seemed to go beyond the known cat species already in the fossil record, but Charlie did notice a difference. While Kila's saber teeth hadn't fully grown in yet, hir lower jaw consisted of a protrusion on the lower jaw that would serve as a sort of guard for Kila's teeth when they did grow in. Charlie's lower jaw didn't have that sort of guard, the Manticore species was apparently closer to Smilodon than Eusmilus. But that wasn't too much of an issue.
"I guess that'll give me a chance of looking as cute as you," Charlie said to young Kat.
Kila smiled, "Do you live with momma?"
"No, I live with my mate and my children and the children we look after in Janace's orphanage," Charlie answered, "Your momma lives with my my mother and hir mate."
"You live with grandma, mamma?" Kila asked to Brent.
"Until I can find a house to live in on my own," Brent answered while Charlie smiled. The two had certainly bonded quickly, and Kila was officially part of the Wise family.