Cats and Dogs Ch. 08

'I thought we were going to sleep?'

'We will. But first we're going to have to relax totally, and I've got the same tension problem you seem to have,' he teased, this time pushing his own erection into Sam's leg.

Despite his tiredness, Sam couldn't help his lust rising, along with his dick. He growled in pleasure at feeling Tom's hand move to his cock and start to stroke. 'As you obviously aren't going to let me sleep until you get some, let's do a lazy 69. I'd love to feel your cock in my mouth while you blow me.'

Tom's answer was a purr, liking the idea a lot, and he turned himself towards Sam's feet so they could both get access. He started with a few soft kitten licks around Sam's head and heard a loud groan before his cock was in Sam's hot mouth. He yelped as Sam took him almost to the root and started working him with lips and tongue hard and fast. It seemed Sam didn't want to take this slow, so Tom mimicked his movements, managing to swallow most of Sam's cock and sucking and licking it. Their moans of pleasure were muffled by full mouths, and it didn't take long before Tom was having to frantically swallow Sam's cum, shooting himself only a few moments later.

After a moment to recover, he turned back round and smiled at Sam, content and sated, and now suddenly very sleepy. They managed to get a few light kisses in before they each started to yawn, and they curled up together as planned and fell into a happy sleep.

* * * * * *

Along the corridor, Finn sat watching the female wolf sleep. He was tired himself, but couldn't bear to leave her. It occurred to him he might be getting a superhero complex, but he felt that he had saved her and was responsible for her now. She had woken a few times in the night, and was increasingly alert when she did, but he didn't think she really knew where she was or who he was just yet. He had fed her water and broth when she was awake and then soothed her back to sleep with soft growls. She seemed to find it comforting. She hadn't yet spoken so he had no idea what her name was. He sat yawning by the side of her bed, unable to let himself drift off until he knew she was safe, and staring at her face as she slept.

Rob entered the room and Finn surprised himself by growling at him. He just about resisted the urge to move to block Rob's entry and view of the woman.

Rob looked surprised for a moment and then started to laugh. 'You're on nursing duty man, not personal protection. Sam told me to come check you were both okay. You look tired, have you had any sleep?'

'A bit. She kept waking up so I couldn't sleep for long. I've been trying to get some broth into her when she wakes. She seems a bit more alert each time.'

'Do you know her name yet?'

'Nope, she hasn't spoken.'

'One of us can relieve you so you can get some shut-eye.'

'No. I'm fine here.' Finn said quickly, not wanting to leave any of the other men alone with his charge. 'It'll be better if she wakes up and there's someone familiar here. We don't know what happened to her there and strange men in her room is probably not a good idea.'

'You're probably right. If you need to sleep perhaps we can get Tilly in here for a bit, she'd be less scary. Although we'll have trouble tearing her away from Dill's bedside.'

'How's he doing?' asked Finn, feeling guilty for not asking already.

'No change so far, but the doc drugged him up good.'

Rob left the room then, and left Finn alone with her again. He checked her face for any sign of waking and sighed when she looked so peaceful. Then he contemplated his behaviour with Rob. He felt possessive of her, wanting to keep her from the other wolves, and his involuntary growl had made that very clear. It wasn't like him, especially not when he was with friends. He didn't mind Tilly too much for the reasons mentioned, but also because he didn't see her as a threat. That couldn't be good. The poor girl was barely conscious, and he had no idea what her name was or how her voice sounded, and yet there was something drawing him to her. He sighed again and rested his head on the edge of the bed, soon falling asleep.

* * * * * *

Tilly's vigil was more alert since she had slept. She'd been too out of it the night before to do anything and was glad the doctor had sedated her. A good night's sleep was a start, but what she really needed right now was her mate. She spoke to him, hoping that he could hear the sound of her voice even though he wasn't conscious, and stroked his hand, which was about the one bit she could touch without affecting his injuries. 'Hey baby. I miss you. You need to sleep now and concentrate on getting better for me. I'll be waiting for you to wake up and give me that cheeky smile.'

Her attention was broken when the door opened and the medic came in. She vaguely recognised him from the night before. He smiled kindly at her.

'It's good to see you looking so well after yesterday. It will definitely help to talk to him, but we may need to keep him sedated a while longer. Can I check him over?'

She nodded and moved away from the bed to let him look at Dill, pleased to see that he took great care. She couldn't resist the sound of shock leaving her when he pulled back the covers and she saw the state of Dill's legs, also covered in cuts and bruises.

'It's not as bad as it looks. The bruises will heal pretty quickly, and the bones too. I think we need to keep him under until tomorrow though, and then we'll see how he's doing.'

Tilly knew what that meant. They'd find out if he was ever going to wake up, and if he did, whether he would be the same again. The look on her face must have been distraught because the medic instantly tried to reassure her.

'There is a good chance that he'll recover. I know it seems bad, but he's young and fit and he seems to be responding well to the treatment already. His reflexes are good, and there is some basic response despite the drugs. I'll stay here today and check him again later.'

'Thank you.'

'It's my job! I can only do the medical side of things though. You and his friends can do a lot. Keep talking to him, tell him anything. There's a lot of evidence that people can still be heard, and caring for him is more than just what I can do. Plus, he'll need someone to keep him in line when he comes round and realises he's stuck in bed for a while.'

Tilly was amused at that thought. Normally Dill was very happy to be in bed, so long as he was sleeping or she was with him, but she knew he'd be annoyed at having to stay there, especially if she couldn't be with him. The doctor left the room with a knowing smile on his face. It was clear to him the young woman cared a lot about Dill, and he did believe that the presence of those you love really helps recoveries.

'Did you hear that Dill? He thinks you'll recover, so you'd better prove him right! I know you'd hate to disappoint him, and there'll be hell to pay if you upset me!.' She placed a kiss on his hand and sat down again, talking about the day so far and the other people they had rescued just for something to say. She was stopped after a while when Sam entered the room.

'Hey sis. How's he doing?'

'Still under sedation, but the medic is positive about his chances. He said to talk to him.'

Sam smiled. 'Talking sounds like the perfect job for you!'

Tilly shot him a dirty look. 'I'm just following doctors orders. Did you want something?'

'Well, actually I need a favour for a few hours. Finn is exhausted but he won't leave that wolf with any of us.'

Tilly looked at him with a question in her eyes, so he continued. 'He says that she keeps waking and someone familiar should be there, or at least someone non-threatening. From what Rob says though that may be more about a threat to him than to her.'

'Interesting. He's become possessive of her?'

'Yep. I'd like it if you could keep an eye on that to be honest. It's fine if it's mutual, but she's not even with us yet. However, it does mean that the only person he's prepared to leave her with is you. I see the logic anyway, a strange woman is likely to be less scary than a strange man given what she may have been through.'

Tilly saw the logic as well, and wanted to help Finn so he could sleep, but she didn't want to leave Dill. Her eyes travelled back to his sleeping face, the bruises still clearly visible but the swelling less obvious already.

'I know you don't want to leave him, but he won't wake up yet after the shot the doctor gave him. I'll stay here while you are gone. I promise to talk to him, and I'll look after him as if he was family.'

Tilly looked right at him, and said firmly, 'He is family.'

Sam just nodded. That said a lot, but he'd have to wait until Dill recovered to hear all of it. He took Tilly's seat by the bed and started chatting straight away. 'Sorry to take her away, but I'll do my best to be good company. Perhaps I can tell you some amusing stories about when she was a kitten.'

Tilly just glared as she left the room, Sam laughing at her reaction. She went down the hall and knocked before she went into the guest room where they had the wolf. 'It's me Finn.' she said as she entered, seeing him start upright from where he had clearly been asleep. 'Finn, you need to go and sleep. I've come to sit with her and I promise I'll take good care of her. I'll call you if she wakes up and makes any sense, but you'll be no use to anyone if you don't sleep.'

Finn looked up at her, bleary eyed. 'You look worse than I thought.' she said, and he smiled.

'Sorry, but I haven't slept properly. She's been having nightmares and waking up so I keep having to top her up with broth and settle her back down. Are you sure you're okay with this?'

'Dill's going to be kept asleep at least until tomorrow. You look like the living dead right now, and I'm the best person to relieve you. Go to bed, now, or I'll make it an order.'

'It sounds like an order already! I'm going. Promise you'll get me if she wakes up.'

'I promise. Get out of here.'

Finn went, slightly grumbling, and not letting his gaze leave the woman's face until he actually left the room. Tilly had the thought that this mission seemed to have left most of them lovestruck, and just when she thought everyone who could had paired off, Finn seemed to want to as well. She felt his emotions of concern and he was even slightly threatened by her presence there, although at least he didn't make it audible like with Rob. She sat down and took a proper look at the woman. Even under the covers she could tell how thin she was, and it was due to starvation. Her ribs were almost visible through the sheets. Her face was peaceful, but her cheeks were hollowed and she was very pale. Her hair was a mess and dull, but long and dark and would probably be beautiful like Tilly's own once it was washed. Tilly made a note that as soon as possible she would deal with that.

She sat in silence for some time, reading a book to keep her mind occupied, but she found it hard to concentrate on the words for worrying about Dill. She kept checking with Sam to see how he was, and each time he was amused and said there was no change, and was unlikely to be. He also kept telling her which stories he was telling Dill, and she rather hoped that either he wasn't, or at least that Dill wouldn't remember them. He seemed to be coming up with every embarrassing story from when she was young, just as he threatened. 'Keep it up Sam, and I will make sure Tom knows every bit of dirt on you.'

'That's not fair. I doubt Dill will remember any of what I tell him. Tom certainly would.'

'You'd better hope he doesn't remember, or I will be talking to Tom very soon.'

Sam just laughed, but did stop teasing her. She went back to her book for probably another hour, before the woman started to shift restlessly in the bed. Tilly was nearby in an instant, waiting for her to wake up. She watched as the woman sniffed the air, and then cautiously opened her eyes, staring at Tilly. She didn't seem afraid, and Tilly was going to start talking to her, but she got in there first.

'Where am I?'

Tilly smiled, pleased to hear her speak and make sense. 'At my brother's house. You're safe here.'

The woman's eyes clouded for a moment, clearly remembering not being safe, and Tilly felt her fear when she thought about it.

'How did I get here? I remember the cage and then being taken out and carried off.'

'We were sent on a search and rescue mission. We found you, got you and some others out, and brought you back to our house.'

The woman looked around the room, taking in the high ceilings and the space. 'I take it we're in a semi-detached in the suburbs?' she said with a smile.

Tilly couldn't help laughing at that. 'Not exactly. It's more of a detached mansion with it's own landscaped grounds and forest.'

'Can I get some water? I'm really thirsty.'

'Sure, and we've got some hearty broth as well. The doctor said to feed and water you little and often, and you've got to take it easy and get lots of rest.'

'Feed and water? Makes me sound like some kind of plant!'

'Well, if you have a sense of humour back, that has to be a really good sign. Have a bit of soup and I'll let the Alphas know you are back with us. What's your name?'

'I'm Sky. Did you say Alphas, plural?'

'Nice to meet you Sky. I'm Tilly. And yes, there are two Alphas here. We were two units but the Council put us together for the mission. We're a mix of panthers and wolves.'

Sky looked at her and sniffed the air. 'You're panther. I hadn't noticed at first. I guess if there are wolves and panthers here it would smell kind of a muddle.'

'Well, there are also two lions living here at the moment, and thanks to last night we also have a snow-leopard and a cheetah. It's becoming more multi-species by the day!'

'How big is this place?' Sky asked, laughing, and taking sips of the broth. 'This is good.'

'Not too much. You need to take it slowly until your system gets used to being fed properly again.'

There was a moment of silence, while Tilly updated Sam on Sky's progress, suggesting that he leave her there for the moment rather than intimidate her with lots of people.

'I've spoken to my Alpha. He's pleased to hear you are awake and said to welcome you to the house.'

'I take it as this house belongs to your brother he is also the Alpha?' Tilly nodded. 'Tell him nice place when you speak to him next. What was it like when the wolves moved in?'

Tilly laughed. 'The wolves were already here, it was the panthers that came to us.' At the surprised look on Sky's face she explained further. 'I was found alone by Sam's parents when we were tiny, so they raised us together. I'm a bit of a freak, act like wolf but look like panther.'

'Fair enough!' Sky seemed then to be thinking something over, struggling to remember. 'Last night, it's all kind of hazy, but I remember being in that cage...' she shuddered at the memory, '... and then there was a wolf there. He got me out and carried me. I remember bits of being in his arms, and seeing his eyes...' she tailed off.

Tilly felt the heat, the emotions expressing more than the words did. Finn had made a big impression on Sky, but then he had saved her from god knows what. She smiled, not letting on she knew what else Sky was thinking about the wolf that had saved her.

'That was Finn. He and I found you and he got you out and to the car. He sat with you all night and most of this morning too, but we had to send him to bed before he keeled over.'

Sky was touched that he had cared that much to stay with her despite being worn out. She hadn't said it, but she could remember the feeling of being in his arms well, and it was both a feeling of safety and of connection. She also remembered his eyes being a beautiful green and looking at her with such concern it had melted her. She'd tried to stay awake to take more of it in, but she had been so exhausted it hadn't been possible. She'd been vaguely aware of him in the night as well, making her drink and then soothing her back to sleep. She very much wanted to meet her saviour now that she was alert.

Tilly shut out the feelings coming from Sky, and wondered what would happen with her and Finn. She knew there was no point keeping them apart, and the she'd just have to wait and see what developed, so long as it wasn't based on gratitude or Finn feeling responsible then things could work.

'I'll get one of the guys to see if he's awake yet. I did promise to let him know when you came too, and he'll probably kill me for not telling him sooner, but he really needed some sleep. Trust me, you would have been scared if you'd seen the bags under his eyes!'

Sky doubted that. 'Thanks. I'd like to see him now I'm with it.' To check him out properly, she thought to herself.

'He can take over here and I'll go back to my other patient.'

'Someone else there was in a bad way?'

'No, one of us was attacked by a guard before we could get out.'

Sky saw the look on Tilly's face as she gave her the barest of facts, and decided not to enquire further. It was obviously a great worry to her. 'I hope they get better soon.'

'Me too. The doctor seems hopeful, but we've had to keep him sedated so far, so no-one knows for sure if he'll be okay.'

'I'm sorry. I kind of feel responsible. If you hadn't had to get me out...'

'It's not your fault. And we all know the dangers of our job. We'll just be a lot happier when he's awake and giving us grief again.' Tilly grinned at the thought.

Before they could get any further into the conversation, Finn knocked at the door and entered. Tilly was amused when they locked eyes and she might as well not have been there. She tried to shut out any emotional seepage, and cleared her throat. 'Right, I'm off to give Sam a break from sitting with Dill. See you two later.' 'And Finn, remember she's been through a lot and isn't well. Don't you dare start thinking with little Finn just yet.' He looked affronted at her suggestion, but she knew she wasn't far from the mark. She left them alone and rushed back to see Dill, even though she knew he would still be asleep, it was still more comforting to be there with him.

Finn had practically run up the corridor when Rob came to wake him and told him why. He couldn't wait to meet this wolf, and he wasn't going to waste time examining why just at the moment. When he entered the room he was caught straight away in her eyes. They were a gorgeous blue and were strangely appropriate for her name. He smiled at her, and frowned at Tilly when she made her comment. He wasn't going to take advantage of a sick woman, no matter how beautiful she was.

His voice sounded strange to him when he managed to start talking. 'Hello Sky, it's nice to meet you. I'm Finn.'

She smiled at him, pleased to see he did look as good as she remembered in her delerium. 'Hi Finn. I gathered we'd already met, although I wasn't really with it at the time. Thank you for saving me.'

'It's my job. But it makes it worthwhile to get smiles from pretty girls as a reward.' God, where did that come from? He was acting like an idiot.

Sky blushed slightly. He thought she was pretty? She hadn't had chance to look in a mirror but suspected she didn't look her best. She knew her hair was matted and she wanted him to see her beautiful, not emaciated and dirty like this. 'I need a few good meals and a bath and I may look presentable again. Perhaps Tilly will help me later.'

Finn stopped himself from suggesting he could help her have a bath. That really wouldn't be appropriate. 'I'll ask her later on. I reckon she needs a bit of time back with Dill before we tear her away again, assuming you don't mind waiting.'