By Axle

Axle kneeled over the toilet in Charley’s bathroom contemplating recent events. Her timing had been off nearly the whole month, the slightest bit of exertion could wear her out, and she’d been constantly hungry for the past couple of weeks. This wave of nausea was the newest on the list of things that were getting to her. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she had gotten tired of it, and was determined to get to the bottom of it all. Once her stomach had settled enough for her to get up, she walked down to the garage in search of Charley. She found her leaning over a bike, hard at work.

"Hey Charley, I need a favor."

Charley looked up to see Axle leaning heavily against a wall, looking even paler than usual. "Sure! You feeling any better?"

"Yeah, a little. I need a doctor. Know anyone that won’t blow a gasket when they see me?"

"What’s going on?"

Axle collapsed into a chair next to the wall. She’d only been up a couple of hours, and was already exhausted. "I’m not sure actually. I haven’t felt this bad since I got the Nebulus Fever as a kid. Nasty thing that, only attacks juveniles suffering from malnutrition. I couldn’t get out of bed for weeks. Luckily, I had some good friends who looked after me quite nicely. Never would’ve made it on my own."

"Gimme a couple of seconds. I’ll see what I can do." Charley got up, and hurriedly moved into the kitchen to make the necessary call. When she came back, she was surprised to find Axle sound asleep.

"Axle, wake up." Charley gently shook the sleeping mouse. "Come on. John said we can come in right away. He’s a good friend of mine from way back. I told him about the guys a few months ago, and he’s actually looking forward to meeting one of you guys. Said he’ll be glad to give you the once over, and he won’t charge anything. After all, the guys have kept the city safe for quite some time now."

"Huh… Oh, ok."

Charley and Axle had snuck in the back door so they could avoid the patients in the waiting room. John put them in an examination room that was rarely used. Upon physical examination, and some very detailed conversation with Axle about the Martian physiology, he’d been able to divine absolutely nothing about her condition. So, he had decided to run every test he could do in house, and hoped to find something to explain Axle’s condition. If that didn’t work, he’d have to contact a friend that ran a med lab in Chicago.

Charley was sitting watching over Axle, who was dozing on the examination table. The two of them had been here for hours, and if Axle hadn’t been worn out before, she was ready to drop now. The door opened slowly, and John walked in with a cheerful face. "Well, ladies, I’ve got an answer to the problem. Axle, my dear mouse, you are pregnant."

At this news, Axle leapt to her feet. She screamed at John, anger and fear lacing her words. "What?! How can that be?"

John was a bit puzzled by this reaction. "Well, these things…"

"I know how it’s supposed to happen. But, I’ve never…." Her tirade ended just as quickly as it had begun. The look that crossed Axle’s face upon realization of the truth would have frozen plasma on the spot. She dropped to the floor in a hysterical bundle. "DEAR GODS!!! IT CAN’T BE!! ARES, NO!!!!!!!"

Charley moved to her side quickly. "Axle, what’s wrong? Answer me. What’s the problem? I’d think you’d be happy about something like this."

Axle shot Charley an icy stare, and then curled up in an uncooperative ball on the floor. Nothing Charley or John did evoked the slightest response from her. She just lay there, arms holding her legs to her chest, tears streaming down her face, a look of absolute disgust, and anguish twisting her features. She stayed that way for hours, occasionally mumbling something unintelligible. John came in and out of the room every so often and tried to get her to talk. Charley just sat beside her, not knowing what to do.

Finally, Axle quit crying and loosened her posture somewhat, but she still refused to respond to Charley. John walked in for the umpteenth time, ready to try a new tactic to pull her back into reality, but Axle’s words stopped him cold.

"You’re sure about this?"

"Yes. But, I can do an ultrasound if you want." Axle had convinced him that the two species hormone levels were nearly the same, so the test alone had been enough to convince John. However, the only way anybody could be one hundred percent certain about these things was to do an ultrasound.

"Not now. But, I’ll be back for that later, and to talk something else over. Right now, I just wanna go home." Axle spoke quietly then turned to go out the door. She stopped when she realized that Charley wasn’t following. "Charley, you coming?"

Charley looked apologetically at John, who was dumbfounded at the sudden change. "Yeah, I’m coming," she said. Then, in a whisper to John, "I’ll call later, and let you know what that was all about. You sure we don’t owe you anything for all your trouble?"

"Thanks, darling. And, no, you don’t owe me anything. I just hope that she’s gonna be ok. I’ve never seen anyone, not even rape victims respond to the news of a pregnancy as violently as that. You’re probably going to want to keep a close eye on her the next couple of days."

Axle didn’t utter a word all the way back to the garage. She just sat in Charley’s pick-up in silence. When Charley pulled to a stop in the garage, Axle jumped out, and ran up the stairs. Charley went to the kitchen so that Axle could take all the time she needed to pull herself together. Ten minutes later, a slightly more composed Axle emmerged, face freshly washed, hair brushed, eyes red from crying. She grabbed a beer out of the frig, sat down, and started playing with the label.

Charley sat down across from her, letting her choose the moment to talk. After about fifteen minutes, she got a little impatient. "So, are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?"

Axle looked up, her face twisted in agony. "Think about it Charley! It’s not really a hard concept! How the hell could I be pregnant without sleeping with anybody?! Those damn-bloody Plutarkians did this to me in one of their stinking labs!" Tears started streaming down her face again, and she threw the bottle across the room with a shriek. "GODS!! WHY THE HELL IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!!!"

Charley ducked the bottle, then turned to look at the mess of beer and glass that now littered the floor and wall behind her. She had no idea what to say. She couldn’t even imagine Axle’s dilemma. She had no idea what it must be like to know that the child inside of you was the product of your species’ greatest enemy; the destroyer of your home world; the ones that had taken five years of your life away. She tried to imagine growing up without a real family, then having to leave behind the only friends she had just to keep her life her own. Finally, her planet was ravaged by an alien race that ripped her away, destroyed her body, and bent her mind to their own evil ways. To top it all off, they were using her body as a breeding ground. The anguish that filled Charley’s heart at these thoughts was too much to bear, and she knew that that was only part of what Axle had been through.

Tears were streaming down Charley’s face when she finally turned back around to face the anguished mouse before her. "Axle, I don’t know what to say. All I can do is assure you that no matter what happens, I will always be here for you. God, how are you going to tell the guys? They’ll kill Limburger, and every Plutarkian they can get their hands on, not to mention what they’ll do to Karbunkle."

Axle looked up from her lap and answered in a whisper that Charley had to strain to hear. "I’m not going to tell them, and neither are you. Why do they need to know about a child that’s not going to last another week?" The icy quality in Axle’s voice unsettled Charley much more than her words.

"What? You can’t mean…"

"I won’t give birth to this thing. It is a part of me, but I can’t do this." Axle paused for a long time before she continued, "Please, just don’t say anything about this to the guys."

"Say anything about what?" Both females whipped their heads around to see Throttle standing in the door, Modo and Vinnie coming up behind him.

The look on Axle’s face caused Throttle’s blood to run cold, and he was suddenly unable to move. When Modo reached the doorway, he nearly knocked him down in an attempt to get to her and ease the suffering he saw. "Sweetheart, what’s wrong? What’s happened?"

Axle didn’t give him a chance to touch her. She knocked the chair over in her haste to get away from him. "No! Don’t touch me! I’m flipping poisoned! Please, let me be." She knocked Throttle aside, and nearly knocked Vinnie over as she ran from the room. Throttle started to follow, but Charley stopped him.

"No! Let her alone, Throttle. She needs some time alone."

Charley moved over to Modo’s still form. He was kneeling in the floor beside the chair Axle had knocked over, tears forming in his eyes. "What’d I do to make her hate me so, Charley-ma’am?"

"Modo, it’s not you. She just got some bad news. She needs time to deal."

Vinnie asked the question that was on the minds of all three males. "What the hell could upset her that much? I don’t think anybody’s ever seen her cry."

Charley just sat in silence, torn between the need to respect Axle’s privacy, and the need to give the guys a chance to help her. Suddenly, she heard a voice in her head. "Go ahead and tell them. It’s too late to try to keep it from them now. They’ll hound us both until they find out, anyway." It took Charley a few moments to realize that Axle was speaking to her through telepathy. It never ceased to amaze her that Axle could do that.

 Throttle was puzzled by Charley’s silence. Surely, Axle would want her brother to know what was going on. "Come on, Charley-girl. She’s my sister. I deserve to know what’s going on."

"I’m sorry, Throttle. It’s just… this is so complicated. You’d better sit down."

All three mice were now extremely curious, and a dread like no other crowded their hearts. None of them knew what could possibly be going on, but they knew they would help Axle in any way they could. They sat down at the table with Charley, listening intently to her every word.

"I suppose you’ve noticed that Axle’s timing has been a little off lately, and that she gets exhausted with the least little bit of exertion." The three nodded to affirm this. She’d barked that nothing was wrong the one time they’d brought it up, so they’d let the subject drop. "Well, the past couple of days, she’s spent hours in the bathroom vomiting. We went to see a doctor friend of mine this morning. He told Axle that she was pregnant."

The silence that followed Charley’s explanation was deafening. But, when realization of what this news meant struck him, Modo roared and slammed his fist down on the table. The wooden table top exploded. The splinters that lodged into his skin only fueled his rage. "I’m gonna kill ‘em! I will find the bloody stink-fish that did this to her, and HE WILL PAY!!!"

Throttle jumped back to escape the shards of wood flying at him when Modo hit the table. Then, he dropped to his knees on the floor, and bent his head down to the floor. He was too sick at the thought of the indignities those bastards had inflicted on his sister to do much of anything at the moment. "Not if you don’t get there before me, bro."

For once Vinnie was the only rational voice in the bunch. He’d gotten up from the table as soon as Charley finished speaking, and was now standing in the doorway. "Bros, all we can do right now is be here for Axle. We have to let her decide how to handle this."

"I can’t just sit around here doing nothing! She’s my sister, dammit! I’m gonna make every stink-fish from here to eternity pay for what they did to her!" Throttle and Modo moved towards the garage to go extract their revenge on the closest Plutarkian. Vinnie and Charley moved in front of them, hoping to talk some sense into them. The two determined mice just pushed them out of the way. The only thing that did stop them was a solemn voice from behind just before they revved their engines.

"If either of you leave this garage, I’ll kill you with my own hands when you come back."

All eyes moved to see Axle standing at the top of the stairs. The look on her face told them that she’d had it with everything, and her voice dripped with danger. "I will handle this in my own way! I will make the decisions! For once, neither Limburger nor Karbunkle did anything. Now, if you can calm down, we will sit down and I’ll tell you what I’m going to do."

Modo and Throttle started to protest, but Axle’s raised arm cannon shut them up even quicker than her words had before. "Now!" The two got off their bikes, and went back into the kitchen. Axle started down the stairs to join them. Suddenly, she lost her footing and, went tumbling down the stairs with a silent scream. The sound of her body hitting the steps, and landing on the concrete floor was sickening. As he was still standing in the doorway, Vinnie was at her side in a split second

He called to her as he rolled her over onto her back. "Axle! You ok, sweetheart? Shit! Charley, get that doctor friend of yours on the phone! We’re gonna need some help!" Blood was pouring from Axle’s nose, and she already had an obvious black eye with a nasty gash just above the eye socket. But, these didn’t upset him nearly as much as the blood that was slowly trickling from her mouth. (For my own satisfaction, I’m inserting a point here. Just to let you know, Martian blood is a flame red/orange color. After all, why would nature abandon the hemoglobin that’s worked so well in every other creature just because we’re not on Earth anymore. But, I figure that Martians need much more of the stuff to compensate for the lower oxygen levels in Mars’ atmosphere, thus the brighter color. Now, back to the story)

Modo and Throttle were at Axle’s side before Vinnie even finished turning her over. As Vinnie got up to tell Charley’s friend what was going on, Modo cradled Axle’s still form in his arms. Throttle held her hand, and tried to get her to respond. They sat there for ten minutes, and she didn’t make the slightest move.

"John’s on his way, he said… OH MY GOD!!!" Charley hit the floor hard at the site of Axle’s still, bloody form. Bruises, and small skin ruptures from the force of impact were now clearly visible on her good arm and leg, as well as the numerous facial injuries.

Vinnie came in behind her and put a steadying hand on her shoulder. "She’ll be ok, sweetheart. I’ve seen Axle survive worse than this."

Throttle looked up at this, "I don’t know, bro. She’s never been so weak; she’s never bled like this before."

Modo was holding a towel against her nose, hoping to staunch the flow of blood. "She’s gonna make it. She’s got to." The group fell into silence as Modo tried to get her to respond yet again. "Come on Axle, wake up. You can’t leave us."

It was nearly half an hour before John arrived. Throttle had tried taking her to the hospital on his bike several times. But, Charley had convinced him each time that it was best to wait. The moment John got there, he jumped into action. He pulled a backboard out of his Cherokee and instructed Modo and Throttle to gently roll Axle onto it, and move her upstairs to a bed. Then, he and Vinnie grabbed his supplies, and followed Charley upstairs. The size of the blood stain at the foot of the stairs told John that there was little chance for this female to survive. Vinnie noticed the look John gave the blood stain as he went up the stairs, and his heart sank.

John ordered everybody but Charley out of the room as soon as Axle was on the bed. Vinnie and Throttle had to drag Modo out. Once they were out, John directed Charley in helping him clean Axle up. Fortunately, the bleeding caused by such a violent miscarriage had already stopped, and he only had the lesser injuries to deal with. John set to work stopping the bloodflow from Axle’s nose first. It was caused by a rupture in one of the major veins delivering blood to her sinuses, and he had to stitch it closed. Then, he checked for internal injuries, and broken bones. Finally, he stitched up the cut above her eye, and bandaged the worst of the cuts. He instructed Charley to hold a cold pack against Axle’s eye while he called the guys back.

Once everybody was inside, John broke the news. "It’s not as bad as it could be, but it’s extremely serious. I didn’t find any broken bones or internal bleeding beyond the miscarriage. The ruptured vein in her nose, and the cut above her eye caused some fairly major blood loss. I’ve actually never seen anybody bleed that much from cuts like that. I can only assume it’s because her body has been weakened by the pregnancy. I’m also extremely worried about the chance of massive bleeding from the miscarriage. She may survive without a transfusion as things stand, but if she loses any more blood, I really don’t think she’s gonna make it."

Throttle and Modo, while listening intently, showed no signs that they had heard John’s assessment. Both males were holding a hand of the fragile figure on the bed, and seemed to be praying to any god that would listen to help her come back to them. Charley was crying because she didn’t know what else to do. Vinnie realized that he had to keep a level head on his shoulders for everyone’s sakes. "Doc, what can we do to help her?"

"Well, a transfusion would greatly increase her chances of survival. But, I’m not sure about blood types. Do any of you know whether your blood can safely mix with hers?"

Throttle looked up, tears of pure anguish streaming down his face, but his voice was eerily calm. "Axle’s blood won’t mix with anybody’s. They said that there was some sort of chemical in her blood that would cause a violent reaction. It’s an old family trait, only carried by certain females. I’ve got trace amounts of the chemical, but in a slightly altered form. The only person left alive that can give blood to Axle, is Axle."

John paused a few minutes, clearly thinking about what he could do to insure the survival of his patient, before he spoke again. "I hate to try to move her, but the only way to be certain that she won’t start bleeding again from the miscarriage is with an ultrasound. Wait a minute, maybe Erin can get one of the machines here. Charley, where’s your phone?"

Charley and John left to call his wife, Erin, at the clinic. Modo had moved to a corner, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Throttle still kneeled by the bed holding his sister’s hands, and gently pushing invisible strands of hair out of her face. Vinnie just stood in the doorway. Everything he could think to say seemed ridiculous, none of it was good enough. Finally, he moved over to the bed to speak to Axle.

"Axle, I know we’ve never been the best of friends, but there are a lot of people here that love you. I’ve seen you pull through a lot worse than this, with nowhere near as much care, babe. I know you’ve spent your whole life running when anybody got too close to keep from getting hurt, but this is no way to run darling. Besides, you can’t leave me here without a racing mate." Throttle looked up to see Vinnie wiping a tear from his eye. He started to say something, but at that moment, John and Charley walked back into the room.

"Alright, we’ll have the ultrasound equipment in less than an hour. There’s nothing we can do now, but wait."

From out of the corner Modo’s hoarse whisper could barely be heard, "What’re her chances without a transfusion?"

"Well, right now, I’d have to say they don’t look too good. But, by the look of all her scars, she’s obviously survived a lot. I wouldn’t be surprised if she pulls through this. However, if she starts bleeding again, and we don’t get it stopped immediately, her chances of survival will be next to nothing."

That was more than Modo could stand, and he got up to leave the room. Charley followed hoping to keep him from going off and doing something he’d regret later. Silent tears started coursing down Throttle’s face as Vinnie placed a steadying hand on his bro’s shoulder. "Doc, isn’t there anything that you can do to give her an edge?"

"I’m sorry. I really wish there was something I could do. But, Earth’s technology in this field has relied on transfusions as far back as earliest medicine. My wife’s bringing some IV drips, and some pain meds to help keep her as comfortable as possible. I’ll do the ultrasound as soon as she gets here. I can stay to keep an eye on her the rest of the night, then we’ll drop by every afternoon to check up on her. I’ll be prepared to get here immediately if something should happen before her condition improves. Beyond that, it’s all up to Axle to pull out of this."

*********************SEVERAL WEEKS LATER***************************

Charley was pulling her shift watching Axle. She usually spent her time sleeping beside the window, relying on the monitor that John had managed to get to alert her if there was a problem. But, this night she had been unable to sleep, so she was talking to Axle’s still body.

"You know, I barely had a chance to get to know you but, I’m really beginning to miss you. It was great to have another female around to help me out. The male domination was really beginning to get to me. Besides, I don’t think they’ll ever let me fight again if you’re not here to talk them into it.

"You’d be amazed at the changes around here the past couple of weeks. Vinnie is actually the level-headed one of the bunch. He’s been holding Modo and Throttle together ever since you fell. I’ve never seen that mouse so calm before. Throttle’s lost every ounce of calmness. He’s nervous, and jittery all the time. Vinnie says that he’s nearly gotten them in trouble several times ‘cause his mind is just not on the battle.’ I’m sure you know that he’s in here whenever he gets a chance. Modo… Well, I don’t know how to describe the change that’s come over the big guy. He’s become even quieter than he was before. He can’t stand to come up here, Vinnie and I pull extra hours to help him out.

"God, Axle, you’ve just got to wake up. I don’t know what’s gonna happen to the guys if you die on them. Hell, I don’t know what I’m gonna do if I lose you. I may not know much about you, but I do know that I like you a lot. I’d really like the chance to get to know you better." Charley had finally run out of things to say, so she reached over to switch on the radio. As she did, she heard a soft moan. She whipped around to see Axle’s head turning towards her.

"Can’t you leave that bloody thing off? I feel like I got hit in the head with a Plutarkian battle cruiser?"

Though her voice was barely a whisper, and extremely weak, Charley was overjoyed to hear her. "Axle, you’re awake! How do you feel?"

Axle’s voice had gained a bit of strength when she answered. "Like I’ve been lost in the desert for weeks. What happened?" Then, realizing that her mouth was drier than it’d been in her entire life, "That wouldn’t be water in that pitcher would it?"

"Of course, you must be as dry as a bone." Charley poured some water in a glass, and helped Axle drink. When she’d laid her back down, Charley sat down and explained the past couple of weeks.

"Well, where do I need to start? What do you remember?"

Axle searched her mind for her last memory. The first thing that hit her was being told that she carried a child that she knew could only have been fathered by a Plutarkian’s test tube while she was still a captive. She paused at this, and nearly broke down as she had the first time she heard the news. Charley saw the pain that flashed across her face, and was relieved that she wouldn’t have to break the news about the child to her again. The first time had been bad enough.

"I remember running upstairs to get away from my brother, then asking you to break the news for me. After that, there’s just a jumble of pain, and half voices. What the hell happened?"

"Well, Modo and Throttle lost it when I told them. They were ready to wage a two-mouse war with Plutark, but you stopped them before they got out of the garage. We were all going into the kitchen to talk when I heard something fall down the stairs, and hit the floor hard. You must have lost your balance on your way down the stairs. You got banged up REAL bad, and lost a lot of blood. You’ve been out cold for weeks now. We’ve all been real worried. John said if you didn’t wake soon, he was going to try some stimulants. But, it looks like we won’t need them after all. It’s great to have you back with us."

Axle was really quiet for a few minutes, then she asked the question that Charley had been dreading. "What about the baby?"

When Charley didn’t answer right away, Axle asked a second time. This time, Charley looked up a little forlornly. "It’s gone, Axle. The fall caused a miscarriage."

Despite her assertion weeks ago that she could never give birth to the ‘thing’ inside of her, Axle’s heart cried out. She’d known that it would hurt to lose the child, but she’d at least hoped to have time to come to terms with it. Tears rolled down her face, matting the fur in streaks on the non-metal side. Charley reached over, and took her hand, trying to comfort her as best she could. She knew better than to point out that this was what Axle had wanted. She understood the way motherhood worked, even if she’d never been one. She’d had a mother, and lots of her friends had had kids. In fact, one of her best friends had given up a child. She remembered how depressed Loran had gotten despite her assertion that she’d ‘never wanted the little snot anyway.’

The two sat that way for hours, Charley explaining all the things that had happened since Axle’s fall. Then, shortly before sunrise, they heard the roar of an engine approaching the garage. "That’ll be Vinnie coming to take his post. He’ll wanna call the guys. You feel up to seeing them now, or should I talk him into letting you adjust for a while?"

"Actually, I’d rather be alone for a little while."

They heard Vinnie’s heavy footsteps as he came up the stairs, and Charley moved towards the door to stop him. She turned as she opened the door. "I understand, darling. But, I can’t guarantee that he won’t at least want to see your face for a few seconds right now. I’ll do my best though." She then went out the door, and Axle could hear their soft speech just outside the door. Several minutes later, Vinnie’s head poked in the door.

"Hey, darling. Mind if I come in for a bit?"

Axle chuckled to herself. She’d known there was no way Charley could keep him out. "Sure, but only for a little while. Throttle’s gonna want me awake when he gets here, and I’m already tired."

"Sure, sweetheart." Vinnie moved over to the chair that had become a permanent fixture beside the bed. "Just wanted to let you know how happy I am that you made it. You gave us all a real scare. I was afraid I’d lost my racing buddy. Your brother just can’t put up a real challenge anymore."

Axle smiled at these words. It felt so good to not be at odds with Vinnie anymore. She’d nearly forgotten how much fun he could be since she’d cheated him out of that race. Things had been kind of strained between them when she first arrived. But, after a while, they’d been able to go back to the way their quartet had been when they were still in school. It did her heart good to have her ‘three brothers’ back again.

"Don’t think I’ll be doing much racing for a while? How’s my bike? He’s not been giving y’all any trouble, has he?" Vinnie started to answer, but when he looked down, Axle had already fallen asleep.

Vinnie smiled, and pushed the loose tendrils of her hair out of her face. He sat there looking at her for a few more minutes before getting up and going back downstairs to talk to Charley.

Vinnie found Charley asleep on the couch. Being as gentle as possible, he picked her up, and carried her to her room. As he laid her down, she moaned and rolled over. "Night Charley-girl." Then, he lightly kissed her forehead before leaving her.

Vinnie collapsed on the couch when he reached the living room. He’d never been so exhausted in his entire life. He’d never realized how hard it was to be the leader of their little group. Throttle had lost all control, and had refused to think rationally ever since Charley had broken the news about Axle. Vinnie had found himself the only level-headed one left. He’d had to force Throttle to leave Axle in order to eat and sleep several days. Modo had been like a zombie, except for the brief explosive moments during which he kept destroying inanimate objects, and roaring like a mad bull. Charley hadn’t been much better, either. But, the worst part was in battle. His bros seemed to have lost all control, and skill. He’d thanked his lucky stars several times that the goons weren’t competent, otherwise they would all have been dead several times over.

Now that Axle was showing improvement, maybe things would straighten out. He’d grown weary of the constant dreariness that pervaded their every activity. He was sleep deprived, and his body ached all the time. He hadn’t slept for days now, and couldn’t remember the last time he’d even seen food. Now, though, he could relax. He suddenly realized that he was famished, so he went to the kitchen to get some food.

The site that met his eyes astonished him. The entire place was a wreck. He’d never realized just how upset Charley was. He’d never seen her let her house get this bad before. He felt bad that he hadn’t noticed before, and offered to help. He absently started cleaning. (And, no, he didn’t think how un-macho it was to be cleaning.) After he finished the kitchen, he went through the rest of the house, being as quiet as a mouse… well, as quiet as an Earth mouse, anyway. It was several hours later before he finished. Dawn had come and gone about two hours ago, and Vinnie was more tired than he thought any one mouse could be. He collapsed on the couch face-down, and fell into a sleep that could nearly be classified as a coma.

Charley woke up to soft snoring drifting up the stairs. Instead of the disaster area she’d come to call a room since Axle’s accident, she was greeted by one perfectly clean room. She quickly pulled on a robe, and went downstairs to thank whoever had done it. The sight of Vinnie stretched out on the couch with a bottle of glass cleaner in one hand, and a roll of paper towels in the other was more than she could bear. She hit the floor hard, laughing hysterically.

Vinnie jerked up, ready to attack whoever was making all the racket. He was greatly puzzled to see Charley rolling in the floor laughing. That is, he was puzzled until he realized what he was holding in his hands. "AAAHHHH, shoot! Now, I’ll never hear the end of the jokes. What was I thinking falling asleep like this?"

Once Charley quite laughing, she moved over to Vinnie, who was expecting an evil remark. She surprised him when she kissed his cheek, and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. "Thanks, Vinnie. You’re the greatest. Don’t worry, I won’t tell the guys about this. Now, why don’t you get some more sleep, you’ve done more than your share around here lately. I’ll go check on Axle real quick, then make us some breakfast." She took the glass cleaner and paper towels with her, and went back upstairs.

Vinnie laid back on the couch, and was oblivious to the world in less than a second.

Axle had woken up shortly before Charley came in her room that morning. She’d been glad to see her face, and the two of them had talked for a while before Charley went to dress, and make breakfast. Axle had promised that she wouldn’t try to get up on her own, and would call if she needed anything. Truth was, she felt so weak that she didn’t think she could have gotten up even if she’d wanted to. Right now, she was quite content to lay in the bad, and relax. The pain killers John had left had been very useful. Even waking up in Karbunkle’s lab without an arm, leg, or face hadn’t felt as bad as this.

Her ears pricked up at the sound of two motorcycle motors coming close to the garage. They sounded almost mournful. She wondered that her brother had been able to bond tightly enough for his bike to pick up his emotions. She and Blue had had such a bond almost instantly, but Throttle had been much slower to even establish a true friendship with his bike. She laughed at the memory of her brother roaming the lot trying to find a bike that didn’t turn away at his approach. There were a few that had even gotten openly hostile at his advances.

She could make out Charley greeting the two males, and their excited responses to the news that Axle was now awake. The two were up the stairs in less than five seconds. The sound of them running up the stairs competed with that of an elephant on a rampage for noise level. She tried to raise herself into a sitting position to greet them, but found that she didn’t have the strength, and collapsed back down just as they burst through the door.

"AXLE!! You’re alive!" Throttle nearly burst her eardrums with his joy. He was more gentle with his hug, and she was extremely thankful.

Modo’s face beamed with satisfaction, and he seemed content with standing at a distance. "We’re all really glad to see you’re awake. I… I mean, we were all beginning to get really worried."

"You didn’t think that I’d leave so soon after getting back did you?"

The weakness in Axle’s voice worried Throttle, but Modo was too ecstatic to notice it. "Darling, I didn’t know what to think. I mean, we finally thought you’d rid yourself of the Plutarkians, and then…. Oops!"

The look Throttle shot Modo at his slip could have broken sheets of Plutarkian glass steel.

"It’s ok, Modo. It’s something that I’ll have to live with. I’ll be alright." Axle’s voice was soft, and both males heard something behind the words that made them wonder, but they didn’t challenge her. "Now, boys, I’m really tired. I wonder if you could let me get some rest. Charley promised me a big breakfast, and I wanna have the energy to eat it."

Throttle gave his sister a kiss, and told her one last time just how happy they were to have her back with them. Modo, still angry with himself for having made such a stupid comment, just patted her hand, and left. Once the two were gone, Axle broke into tears. They were tears that had been pent up inside her ever since she remembered what they had done to her. But, they were no longer just tears of anger, she now grieved the lose of the child. She doubted that even as angry as she had been before that she would have been able to go through with ending the pregnancy. But, to lose the child in such a violent way was too much for her. She cried herself into oblivion.

Throttle, Modo, and Charley let Vinnie and Axle sleep. The two sleeping mice had been through more in the past couple of week than any of the rest of them, and they deserved all their rest. The silence that filled the building was not from remorse, but from joy that could not be expressed properly. They knew that Axle was still a long way from recovery, but they were at least sure she would recover, and things would go back to normal in no time.

What they didn’t know was what the universe had in store for them, and just how much turmoil was about to enter their lives. But, that’s another story altogether…