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Some content may not be safe/suitable for work or school. Some content and depictions may be illegal to view in some areas. Some content may be illegal to view by those under legal age of connect.

ICRA: LbNzVaOcba
RSAC: V0 N0 S0 L2
Characters
© \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNeosate\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNeosate\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
: Lilliana Fargo, Cecily Silvana, Susan Shelby


","writing":"[b][t][center]Mending The Broken[/center][/t][/b]\n[center][b]The Morning After[/b][/center]\n[center][color=\"#666666\"][i]by @Neosate[/i][/center]\n\n[center][b]June 8, 2013[/b][/center]\nLilly Fargo was awoken by the beam of sunlight that peeked through the space in the curtains directly into her eyes. Blinking and blocking it with her hand, she noticed a warm fuzzy weight at her side. Looking down she saw the little kangaroo mouse, still wrapped in her towel, curled up in a ball next to her. She must have abandoned the game sometime late that morning and fallen asleep.\n\n She picked up her pocket watch off the bedside table and flipped it open. Six hours, that is plenty sleep for one night, can always get more on the road later. She Looked at the mouse again, first some new plans needed to be made.She slowly slid out from under the mouse girl, and slipped on some panties and sat down at the little complimentary desk/table and opened her laptop and went to work on her changes.\n \n[center][b]-----[/b][/center]\nCecily opened her eyes, looking around slightly disoriented, she saw the liger sitting with her back turned looking at a computer screen. The entire night was all a fog in her mind, but she remembered the liger, she was nice. What was her name, some kind of flower? Quietly she tried to slip out of the bed and make her way to the bathroom; her clothes must have been dry bythen. She tried not to disturb the liger any more than she already must have, Cecily just wanted to make her escape and be done with it. No one ever really wanted her around anyway, not even that boy that begged her to come out here, once he got what he wanted even he tossed her out on the street. Surely this woman had better things to do with her life than look after her also.\n\nStartled by the sound of the armchair scraping on the floor, Cecily squeaked and tripped over her own feetpaws. She cought herself with the door to the bathroom and looked over her shoulder. Looking directly at her the liger had a huge toothy smile on her face.\n \n“Good morning Sisy. Sleep well?” Lily asked watching her stand up slowly.\n\n “Cecily.” she replied softly\n\n “What?”\n\n “My name is Cecily” She said just a bit louder.\n\n “Well, Sisy. I think I have come up with yet another stupid plan. You have three years before you age out of the system, but you need someone to take responsibility for you until then. It is too early to make phone calls out west, but I think I can pull a few strings and get something arranged.” She watched as the fragile mouse started to shake, “Are you OK?” Lilly asked as she stood up and started to walk over the mouse, who quickly darted into the bathroom slamming the door behind her.\n\n[i]What does she want? No one is really this nice, not to me[/i]. She thought to herself as she shook leaning against the door. [i]What does she mean ‘pull some strings’? Who is she going to drop me on this time? [/i]She slid down the door,a hugged her knees to her chest and wrapped her long tail around her. [i]If only I had gotten out while she was sleeping. [/i]Cecily squeaked as she heard a knock at the door.\n\n “Hey in there. I didn’t mean to scare you” The liger said from the other side. “If you want, get dressed and we can go get some breakfast, and your stuff. By the way, where are you staying? You really didn’t tell me last night.”\nCecily continued to hug her knees tighter as she sat silently. She felt the thud of the liger’s body hitting the door, but not like she was trying to get in. \n\n“Look, I am not good at this talking to people thing.” Lilly said, her voice much closer to the floor. “And I don’t know what I am thinking these days. I ran into you in that alley for a reason. I am not sure why, but everything I have done in this last month put me right there. We’re kinda in the same boat here. You don’t have a family, and what's left of mine could care less what happens to me. So I was thinking…” She paused trying to figure out how to say what was on her mind. “Maybe we could help each other out here. But before we can figure these things out, I need breakfast.” She finished as both their stomachs growled almost in unison which caused them both to giggle.\n \n[center][b]-----[/b][/center]\nLilly lead Cecily to the parking garage where the Camaro waited, “Come on Squeaky, Breakfast awaits.” She said as she slid the key into the lock on the trunk. “Toss that shit in here and let's get going. What do you want for breakfast? Denny’s, IHOP? Anything but BK, I need my grits, and theirs sucks sweaty man balls,” she said as she moved to the driver door, “Get in, it’s not locked.”\n\n Cecily sat in the passenger seat, which was made for a much larger person, buckled the seat belt and looked at the sparse dash. Every car she had been in had all sorts of gadgets that she had never had a chance to figure out. This one looked simple yet intimidating to the kangaroo mouse. There was only a classic radio with knobs to tune the channels, no CD player or satellite radio, yet the instrument panel was covered with gauges, she counted nine total. Cecily yelped and covered her ears as the finely tuned muscle car roared to life.\n\n “Help me turn on the A/C could you.” Lilly asked as she rolled down her window.\n\n Cecily looked around the dash for the controls, but only found two levers marked “Vent”. Confused she meekly asked, “Where is the switch?”\n\n “Right there on the door beside you. It's a 60-2 model A/C, we roll down two windows and get this thing up to 60.” Lily said as she ponted at the crank for the window. “We gots ArmStrong power windows too. Powering these windows will make your arms strong.” Lilly smiled as she saw the confused expression on the mouse’s face, “So what's for eats squeaker?” She tapped the shifter into reverse, threw one arm over the back of Cecily’s seat and turned almost completely around while she backed the car out of the spot. \n\nThe liger swung back forward, paw landing on the shifter and looked at her companion. “OK Cecily, you ready to feel what a real car is like?” She said with the biggest grin her face could possibly manage. She dropped the beast into first gears, and gave it some gas sa she released the clutch. the engine revved as the rear tires spun, letting off smoke and the smell of hot rubber. The Camaro suddenly launched forward, which caused Cecily to squeak and cover her eyes. When they had finally entered the street, Liliana slowed the car to a normal pace and looked over at the cowering kid in her passenger seat. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you again. I am making a shitty role model already.” She thought for a moment at the stoplight, “Fuck, I should probably stop cursing too. This is going to be harder than I thought.”\n \n[center][b]-----[/b][/center]\n The pair sat at a table in the IHOP looking over the menu, Lilly already knew what she wanted, the Biscuit & Gravy combo with extra bacon and sausage. She sat her menu down and looked over at the teen mouse in front of her. She looked so small for her age, here in the restaurant, shielded by the menu, she looked like a small child no older the seven or eight years. Tears started forming in her eyes as she thought about the past night. She must have gone through a lot in her short life. But if Lilly had anything to do with it, things were going to be different, for them both.\n\n “You can have anything you want, Sisy.” She said just to break the silence. A small eep came from behind the menu, “No rush either. It’s not like we have to be anywhere any time soon.”\n\n “I will have some pancakes.” Cecily said as she sat her menu on the table.\n\n “Pancake? Is that all you want? Not Chocolate chip, or fruit toppings? I said anything,”\n\n ”Just pancakes, ma’am.” She said just above a whisper.\n\n “Now don’t start that ma’am shit with me. My name’s Lilly, if you come up with something better try it out and see if it fits.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Here’s the deal, I am not going to leave you alone in this city, I would not wish that on anyone your age. So you have a choice, and I am going to leave it up to you. I can either, take you back to Oregon and drop you off at Family services...” the look of dismay on Cecily’s face was agonizing for Lilly, “...or we can make some calls and see what we can do about you staying with me.” Lilly saw a sparkle in Cecily’s eye that quickly vanished, replaced by the melancholy face she had seen all morning. “Either way you're going to be spending a lot of time with me for the next month.”\n\n“Why?” Cecily asked timidly.\n\n “Well, here’s the thing. I just quit my job and decided to take a break from the grind for the next month or so. And I am not giving that up just to drive you back to a place you don’t even want to be.” She leaned her elbows on the table and folded her paws together. “Look, I have twenty five days till I get on a cruise to Hawaii, and a vacation fund that has been building for ten years. I plan on stopping at every amusement park, tourist trap and natural wonder I can think up between now and then. For me to take you back you will have to suffer with me though the horrific fun and excitement I plan on having.” She looked Cecily in the eyes, “I am giving you a choice of the end of this adventure, not whether I am taking you with me or not.” She leaned back in her chair again, “But there are going to be some rules.”\n\nJust then the waiter came to take their order. Lilly Pipped up loudly and said “I will take the biscuit and gravy combo, add three scrambled eggs, extra bacon and sausage, and cover it all in enough gravy to drown a cow.” Then she pointed over at Cecily, “And she will have the three stack chocolate chip pancakes with the whipped cream smiley face on it. O.J. around the table, even the empty seats, and two cups of coffee.” As the waiter left she hears a faint whisper from the other side of the table. “I am half deaf in both ears, you will have to speak up a bit for me to hear you,”\n\n Just loud enough to hear across the table, Cecily said, ”Thank you… Lilly”\n\n “You're welcome.” the liger replied. “Now my rules are simple. Rule 1. I am rude, blunt, opinionated and foul mouthed. If I say or do something that offends you, you need to tell me. If you don’t, how am I supposed to know not to do or say that again?” She waited for a response. When none came she continued, “Rule 2. No running off. Both my and your vacation will be ruined if I have to hunt you down in some strange city that neither of us know. And I will come looking for you.” Lilly paused for another moment. “That’s it, simple. I will only make other rules if they are necessary. Let’s hope they’re not.”\n\n A barely audible “Yes, mam,” came from the other side of the table.\n\n “Polite and mannered young critter, aren't you?” Lilly pulled out her phone, “Now where have you been staying so we can get your stuff?” Cecily squeaked out an address that Lilly quickly typed into the navigator on her phone. She looked at the location on the map, and said, “Um, we will get you new stuff. I am not going there.” She put the Droid 4 back in its holster. “I guess that sets our plans for the day. I wanted to see Potomac Mills anyway. Shopping will be good for us, girl bonding time.”\n \n[center][b]-----[/b][/center]\nAfter hours of shopping, dressing the little mouse in every outfit she could find in every clothing store they passed, Lilly finally dropped herself on a bench. She looked over at the mouse girl, who for the entire trip had not been much more than a shadow and dress up doll for the liger, and said “I don’t know about you but this is boring.” She got only a nod, which was the peak of any conversation or question she had asked all day. “How about a round of Lazer Tag. I saw one outside when we drove around.” She heard an eep come from the kangaroo mouse who was holding a bag full of new clothes. “Ok, maybe a bit much for you, Squeaker. What would you like to do? Anything within driving distance.”\n\n Cecily looked down at the ground and mumbled something too quietly to be heard over the bustle of the mall on a Saturday afternoon. Lilly leaned in close to hear what the meek mouse girl said, she could barely make out ‘FYE’. She leaned back and looked across the walk to see the entertainment media outlet. “Sure, let’s check it out. I haven’t gotten any new tunes in a few months.” \n\nWhen they entered the store, Lilly saw the first burst of energy and excitement from Cecily, as she leaped nearly ten feet forward to the CD displays, feetpaws never hitting the ground until arrival. The girl bounced around from Pop to Rock, to instrumental and classical. Lilly stood back,and watched the sparkle in the girl’s eyes as she passed each CD under the scanner of the sampler headphones. She walked over to the wall and grabbed a CD player and cassette adapter before she went back to where the Mouse had been to the beat of some random song. \n“Well, little miss D.J, have you made a road selection?”\n\n When Lilly spoke, Cecily dropped the headphones and took a few steps back, “I’m sorry.”\n\n The liger kneeled down to get to her eye level with the mouse and told her, “You have nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong. We have a long trip ahead of us, and music would make the hours on the road go by faster. I am pretty sure you don't want to listen to old lady music, so pick you out about ten or so CDs. We still have to hit up Wal-Mart for a sleeping bag for you. I plan on camping tonight. Our next stop is Busch Gardens in the morning, then on to Orlando.”\n\n Cecily stepped back in cautiously,and watched Lilly as picked out a wide variety of music, some country, pop, rock, classical, Celtic, as well as a few that the liger did not really pick up on. They walked to the counter together, and Lilly paid for the selection without paying much attention to the cost. As they exited the store, Cecily hugged the bag of music tightly, as if it would run away if she let go.\n \n[center][b]-----[/b][/center]\nAfter they picked up a slightly bigger tent and other hygienic necessities, the two drove to a nearby KOA camp. Setting up camp by the light of a campfire on a Saturday night was not Lillyiana’s original plan, but with the music playing and other campers still wake, it was not that big of an issue. She was just happy that Cecily seemed more at ease now than she had been all day. While Lilly cooked fish over the camp stove, she watched Cecily dance to the music playing through the car stereo.\n\n The music came to an end as Cecily sat down next to Lilly in a camp chair. The question caught Lilly completely off guard, “Why?”\n\n The liger looked over at Cecily as she pulled the fish off the cooker, “What was that, Sisy?”\n\n “Why? Why do you want to take me? What’s in it for you? It can’t be the money, the way you spent it today, and everyone has a reason to want me around. What is yours?” Cecily asked more direct than Lilly was ready for.\n\n She thought for a moment and really had no idea how to answer the question. She looked down at the fish and gave the only answer she could think of, “I don’t know. Nothing I guess. I never really thought about it that way.”\n\n “I need to know why you are doing this. You're being nice to me, spending money you don’t have to. I don’t get it. Either you are crazy or you are getting something out of it.”\n\n “You know what, you’re right. I am crazy. I was thinking the same thing when I started looking up the information this morning. But, to be honest, I really could not leave you in D.C. I would not be able to sleep at night, thinking you were right back there behind that club defenseless. When I look at you it makes me angry. I can see the pain and neglect in your eyes. I don’t know what happened to you before now, but just looking at you makes me want to hurt whoever hurt you. I hate seeing that look of fear on your face every time I say something. I guess I have just gone soft.”\n\n She looked over at Cecily she continued, “What I want to see is what I saw in the music store, a happy girl without a care in the world. You deserve that. Whatever you have been through is in the past. I don’t care what it was, hell; I won’t even ask if you don’t want to talk about it. What I want for you is just to have what every girl your age should have, a safe place to stay and whatever makes you happy.” She looked back down at the food. “I guess my motives are selfish. I want to help you because I could not live with myself if I didn’t.”\n\n Cecily sat in silence for a moment and picked at the food in front of her. “I guess I can live with that. Can’t be any worse than other places I have stayed.” She eat a small bit of the fish. “Besides, you can always send me back like the rest.”\n\n “Hold on a second, I think you missed a small detail here. I am not an Oregon resident, so I can’t take you on as a foster child. I would have to adopt you. Once that is done, there is no going back.” Lilly was amazed by the shocked look in Cecily’s eyes. “If you want me to do this we are going to be stuck together for at least until you are out of high school. And the amusing thing is, I have no clue where that will be. I can make a few calls tomorrow to get the temporary custody ball rolling. I know a few people in the state from a thing a few years back.” Lilly finished off her small meal and went on, “I think they will need physical signatures, so we will have to be in the state for that, but I might get Susan to walk some of the paperwork though, if I can FedEx it to her.”\n\n The look of disbelief still vivid on her face, Cecily asked, “What the hell are you talking about? That stuff take months.”\n\n “Sure it takes months to finalize, but if I can get the paperwork pushed through, you can stay with me until then. The only problem is, you will have to suffer through my road trip craziness and a cruise to Hawaii. Yea, I know, who would want to go to Hawaii when you can just live on the streets?” She looked at her again, “Damned if I am not fixin’ to do the second stupidest thing in my life. So what will it be Sisy, try living with a crazy liger who is currently jobless and homeless, or try and strike it out on your own again?”\n\n “Why would you do that? It’s crazy, you don’t even know me.”\n\n “I am going to do it, because I believe in doing the right thing, and leaving you out there by yourself is wrong.” She tossed her paper plate into the slowly dying fire and started walking to the two man tent. “Think about it, Sisy. Finish your food, and when the fire dies, get some sleep. We have Busch Gardens in the morning.”\n\n Cecily sat there for a long time just looking into the smoldering ashes. [i]What is wrong with this woman? No one really thinks like that. [/i]She knelt down and poked at the embers with a stick, causing them to crumble to ashes. [i]Even if it is real, it will fall apart like everything else someday. When will it hurt more, to leave now or wait till she pushes me away? [/i]Cecily dozed off in the hot summer night there by the fire while contemplating and arguing with herself.\n\nLilly sat in the tent, and watched Cecily until she fell asleep. When she heard the young girl whimper in a dream, Lilly went out and laid down with her, wrapped her arm over the small frame and pulled her close. She felt the shivering stop and tense muscle relax. Together they slept there on the ground, the liger and the mouse that had captured an once empty part of her heart.\n\n","writing_bbcode_parsed":"
Mending The Broken

The Morning After

by \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNeosate\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNeosate\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t


June 8, 2013

Lilly Fargo was awoken by the beam of sunlight that peeked through the space in the curtains directly into her eyes. Blinking and blocking it with her hand, she noticed a warm fuzzy weight at her side. Looking down she saw the little kangaroo mouse, still wrapped in her towel, curled up in a ball next to her. She must have abandoned the game sometime late that morning and fallen asleep.

 She picked up her pocket watch off the bedside table and flipped it open. Six hours, that is plenty sleep for one night, can always get more on the road later. She Looked at the mouse again, first some new plans needed to be made.She slowly slid out from under the mouse girl, and slipped on some panties and sat down at the little complimentary desk/table and opened her laptop and went to work on her changes.
 
-----

Cecily opened her eyes, looking around slightly disoriented, she saw the liger sitting with her back turned looking at a computer screen. The entire night was all a fog in her mind, but she remembered the liger, she was nice. What was her name, some kind of flower? Quietly she tried to slip out of the bed and make her way to the bathroom; her clothes must have been dry bythen. She tried not to disturb the liger any more than she already must have, Cecily just wanted to make her escape and be done with it. No one ever really wanted her around anyway, not even that boy that begged her to come out here, once he got what he wanted  even he tossed her out on the street. Surely this woman had better things to do with her life than look after her also.

Startled by the sound of the armchair scraping on the floor, Cecily squeaked and tripped over her own feetpaws. She cought herself with the door to the bathroom and looked over her shoulder. Looking directly at her the liger had a huge toothy smile on her face.
 
“Good morning Sisy. Sleep well?” Lily asked watching her stand up slowly.

 “Cecily.” she replied softly

 “What?”

 “My name is Cecily” She said just a bit louder.

 “Well, Sisy. I think I have come up with yet another stupid plan. You have three years before you age out of the system, but you need someone to take responsibility for you until then. It is too early to make phone calls out west, but I think I can pull a few strings and get something arranged.”  She watched as the fragile mouse started to shake, “Are you OK?” Lilly asked as she stood up and started to walk over the mouse, who quickly darted into the bathroom slamming the door behind her.

What does she want? No one is really this nice, not to me. She thought to herself as she  shook leaning against the door. What does she mean ‘pull some strings’? Who is she going to  drop me on this time? She slid down the door,a hugged her knees to her chest and wrapped her long tail around her. If only I had gotten out while she was sleeping. Cecily squeaked as she heard a knock at the door.

 “Hey in there. I didn’t mean to scare you” The liger said from the other side. “If you want, get dressed and we can go get some breakfast, and your stuff. By the way, where are you staying? You really didn’t tell me last night.”
Cecily continued to hug her knees tighter as she sat silently. She felt the thud of the liger’s body hitting the door, but not like she was trying to get in.

“Look, I am not good at this talking to people thing.” Lilly said, her voice much closer to the floor. “And I don’t know what I am thinking these days. I ran into you in that alley for a reason. I am not sure why, but everything I have done in this last month put me right there. We’re kinda in the same boat here. You don’t have a family, and what's left of mine could care less what happens to me. So I was thinking…” She paused trying to figure out how to say what was on her mind. “Maybe we could help each other out here. But before we can figure these things out, I need breakfast.” She finished as both their stomachs growled almost in unison which caused them both to giggle.
 
-----

Lilly lead Cecily to the parking garage where the Camaro waited, “Come on Squeaky, Breakfast awaits.” She said as she slid the key into the lock on the trunk. “Toss that shit in here and let's get going. What do you want for breakfast? Denny’s, IHOP? Anything but BK, I need my grits, and theirs sucks sweaty man balls,” she said as she moved to the driver door, “Get in, it’s not locked.”

 Cecily sat in the passenger seat, which was made for a much larger person, buckled the seat belt and looked at the sparse dash. Every car she had been in had all sorts of gadgets that she had never had a chance to figure out. This one looked simple yet intimidating to the kangaroo mouse. There was only a classic radio with knobs to tune the channels, no CD player or satellite radio, yet the instrument panel was covered with gauges, she counted nine total. Cecily yelped and covered her ears as the finely tuned muscle car roared to life.

 “Help me turn on the A/C could you.” Lilly asked as she rolled down her window.

 Cecily looked around the dash for the controls, but only found two levers marked “Vent”. Confused she meekly asked, “Where is the switch?”

 “Right there on the door beside you. It's a 60-2 model A/C, we roll down two windows and get this thing up to 60.” Lily said as she ponted at the crank for the window. “We gots ArmStrong power windows too. Powering these windows will make your arms strong.” Lilly smiled as she saw the confused expression on the mouse’s face, “So what's for eats squeaker?” She tapped the shifter into reverse,  threw one arm over the back of Cecily’s seat and turned almost completely around while she backed the  car out of the spot.

The liger swung back forward, paw landing on the shifter and looked at her companion. “OK Cecily, you ready to feel what a real car is like?” She said with the biggest grin  her face could possibly manage. She dropped the beast into first gears, and gave it some gas sa she released the clutch. the engine revved as the rear tires spun, letting off smoke and the smell of hot rubber. The Camaro suddenly launched forward, which caused Cecily to squeak and cover her eyes. When they had finally entered the street, Liliana slowed the car to a normal pace and looked over at the cowering kid in her passenger seat. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you again. I am making a shitty role model already.” She thought  for a moment at the stoplight, “Fuck, I should probably stop cursing too. This is going to be harder than I thought.”
 
-----

 The pair sat at a table in the IHOP looking over the menu, Lilly already knew what she wanted, the Biscuit & Gravy combo with extra bacon and sausage. She sat her menu down and looked over at the teen mouse in front of her. She looked so small for her age, here in the restaurant, shielded by the menu, she looked like a small child no older the  seven or eight years. Tears started forming in her eyes as she thought about the past night. She must have gone through a lot in her short life. But if Lilly had anything to do with it, things were going to be different, for them both.

 “You can have anything you want, Sisy.”  She said just to break the silence. A small eep came from behind the menu, “No rush either. It’s not like we have to be anywhere any time soon.”

 “I will have some pancakes.” Cecily said as she sat her menu on the table.

 “Pancake? Is that all you want?  Not Chocolate chip, or fruit toppings? I said anything,”

 ”Just pancakes, ma’am.” She said just above a whisper.

 “Now don’t start that ma’am shit with me. My name’s Lilly, if you come up with something better try it out and see if it fits.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Here’s the deal, I am not going to leave you alone in this city, I would not wish that on anyone your age. So you have a choice, and I am going to leave it up to you. I can either, take you back to Oregon and drop you off at Family services...” the look of dismay on Cecily’s face was agonizing for Lilly, “...or we can make some calls and see what we can do about you staying with me.” Lilly saw a sparkle in Cecily’s eye that quickly vanished, replaced by the melancholy face she had seen all morning. “Either way you're going to be spending a lot of time with me for the next month.”

“Why?” Cecily asked timidly.

 “Well, here’s the thing. I just quit my job and decided to take a break from the grind for the next month or so. And I am not giving that up just to drive you back to a place you don’t even want to be.” She leaned her elbows on the table and folded her paws together. “Look, I have twenty five days till I get on a cruise to Hawaii, and a vacation fund that has been building for ten years. I plan on stopping at every amusement park, tourist trap and natural wonder I can think up between now and then. For me to take you back you will have to suffer with me though the horrific fun and excitement I plan on having.” She looked Cecily in the eyes, “I am giving you a choice of the end of this adventure, not whether I am taking you with me or not.” She leaned back in her chair again, “But there are going to be some rules.”

Just then the waiter came to take their order. Lilly Pipped up loudly and said “I will take the biscuit and gravy combo, add three scrambled eggs, extra bacon and sausage, and cover it all in enough gravy to drown a cow.” Then she pointed over at Cecily, “And she will have the three stack chocolate chip pancakes with the whipped cream smiley face on it. O.J. around the table, even the empty seats, and two cups of coffee.” As the waiter left she hears a faint whisper from the other side of the table. “I am half deaf in both ears, you will have to speak up a bit for me to hear you,”

 Just loud enough to hear across the table, Cecily said, ”Thank you… Lilly”

 “You're welcome.” the liger replied. “Now my rules are simple. Rule 1. I am rude, blunt, opinionated and foul mouthed. If I say or do something that offends you, you need to tell me. If you don’t, how am I supposed to know not to do or say that again?” She waited for a response. When none came she continued, “Rule 2. No running off. Both my and your vacation will be ruined if I have to hunt you down in some strange city that neither of us know. And I will come looking for you.” Lilly paused for another moment. “That’s it, simple. I will only make other rules if they are necessary. Let’s hope they’re not.”

 A barely audible “Yes, mam,” came from the other side of the table.

 “Polite and mannered young critter, aren't you?” Lilly pulled out her phone, “Now where have you been staying so we can get your stuff?” Cecily squeaked out an address that Lilly quickly typed into the navigator on her phone. She looked at the location on the map, and said, “Um, we will get you new stuff. I am not going there.” She put the Droid 4 back in its holster. “I guess that sets our plans for the day. I wanted to see Potomac Mills anyway. Shopping will be good for us, girl bonding time.”
 
-----

After hours of shopping, dressing the little mouse in every outfit she could find  in every clothing store they passed, Lilly finally dropped herself on a bench. She looked over at the mouse girl, who for the entire trip had not been much more than a shadow and dress up doll for the liger, and said “I don’t know about you but this is boring.” She got only a nod, which was the peak of any conversation or question she had asked all day. “How about a round of Lazer Tag. I saw one outside when we drove around.” She heard an eep come from the kangaroo mouse who was holding a bag full of new clothes. “Ok, maybe a bit much for you, Squeaker. What would you like to do? Anything within driving distance.”

 Cecily looked down at the ground and mumbled something too quietly to be heard over the bustle of the mall on a Saturday afternoon. Lilly leaned in close to hear what the meek mouse girl said, she could barely make out ‘FYE’. She leaned back and looked across the walk to see the entertainment media outlet. “Sure, let’s check it out. I haven’t gotten any new tunes in a few months.”  

When they entered the store, Lilly saw the first burst of energy and excitement from Cecily, as she leaped nearly ten feet forward to the CD displays, feetpaws never hitting the ground until arrival. The girl bounced around from Pop to Rock, to instrumental and classical. Lilly stood back,and watched the sparkle in the girl’s eyes as she passed each CD under the scanner of the sampler headphones. She walked over to the wall and grabbed a CD player and cassette adapter before she went back to where the Mouse had been to the beat of some random song.
“Well, little miss D.J, have you made a road selection?”

 When Lilly spoke, Cecily dropped the headphones and took a few steps back, “I’m sorry.”

 The liger kneeled down to get to her eye level with the mouse and told her, “You have nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong. We have a long trip ahead of us, and music would make the hours on the road go by faster. I am pretty sure you don't want to listen to old lady music, so pick you out about ten or so CDs. We still have to hit up Wal-Mart for a sleeping bag for you. I plan on camping tonight. Our next stop is Busch Gardens in the morning, then on to Orlando.”

 Cecily stepped back in cautiously,and watched Lilly as picked out a wide variety of music, some country, pop, rock, classical, Celtic, as well as a few that the liger did not really pick up on. They walked to the counter together, and Lilly paid for the selection without paying much attention to the cost. As they exited the store, Cecily hugged the bag of music tightly, as if it would run away if she let go.
 
-----

After they picked up a slightly bigger tent and other hygienic necessities, the two drove to a nearby KOA camp. Setting up camp by the light of a campfire on a Saturday night was not Lillyiana’s original plan, but with the music playing and other campers still wake, it was not that big of an issue. She was just happy that Cecily seemed more at ease now than she had been all day. While Lilly cooked fish over the camp stove, she watched Cecily dance to the music playing through the car stereo.

 The music came to an end as Cecily sat down next to Lilly in a camp chair. The question caught Lilly completely off guard, “Why?”

 The liger looked over at Cecily as she pulled the fish off the cooker, “What was that, Sisy?”

 “Why? Why do you want to take me? What’s in it for you? It can’t be the money, the way you spent it today, and everyone has a reason to want me around. What is yours?” Cecily asked more direct than Lilly was ready for.

 She thought for a moment and really had no idea how to answer the question. She looked down at the fish and gave the only answer she could think of, “I don’t know. Nothing I guess. I never really thought about it that way.”

 “I need to know why you are doing this. You're being nice to me, spending money you don’t have to. I don’t get it. Either you are crazy or you are getting something out of it.”

 “You know what, you’re right. I am crazy. I was thinking the same thing when I started looking up the information this morning. But, to be honest, I really could not leave you in D.C. I would not be able to sleep at night, thinking you were right back there behind that club defenseless. When I look at you it makes me angry. I can see the pain  and neglect in your eyes. I don’t know what happened to you before now, but just looking at you makes me want to hurt whoever hurt you. I hate seeing that look of fear on your face every time I say something. I guess I have just gone soft.”

 She looked over at Cecily she continued, “What I want to see is what I saw in the music store, a happy girl without a care in the world. You deserve that. Whatever you have been through is in the past. I don’t care what it was, hell; I won’t even ask if you don’t want to talk about it. What I want for you is just to have what every girl your age should have, a safe place to stay and whatever makes you happy.” She looked back down at the food. “I guess my motives are selfish. I want to help you because I could not live with myself if I didn’t.”

  Cecily sat in silence for a moment and picked at the food in front of her. “I guess I can live with that. Can’t be any worse than other places I have stayed.” She eat a small bit of the fish. “Besides, you can always send me back like the rest.”

 “Hold on a second, I think you missed a small detail here. I am not an Oregon resident, so I can’t take you on as a foster child. I would have to adopt you. Once that is done, there is no going back.” Lilly was amazed by the shocked look in Cecily’s eyes. “If you want me to do this we are going to be stuck together for at least until you are out of high school. And the amusing thing is, I have no clue where that will be. I can make a few calls tomorrow to get the temporary custody ball rolling. I know a few people in the state from a thing a few years back.” Lilly finished off her small meal and went on, “I think they will need physical signatures, so we will have to be in the state for that, but I might get Susan to walk some of the paperwork though, if I can FedEx it to her.”

 The look of disbelief still vivid on her face, Cecily asked, “What the hell are you talking about? That stuff take months.”

 “Sure it takes months to finalize, but if I can get the paperwork pushed through, you can stay with me until then. The only problem is, you will have to suffer through my road trip craziness and a cruise to Hawaii. Yea, I know, who would want to go to Hawaii when you can just live on the streets?” She looked at her again, “Damned if I am not fixin’ to do the second stupidest thing in my life. So what will it be Sisy, try living with a crazy liger who is currently jobless and homeless, or try and strike it out on your own again?”

 “Why would you do that? It’s crazy, you don’t even know me.”

 “I am going to do it, because I believe in doing the right thing, and leaving you out there by yourself is wrong.” She tossed her paper plate into the slowly dying fire and  started walking to the two man tent. “Think about it, Sisy. Finish your food, and when the fire dies, get some sleep. We have Busch Gardens in the morning.”

 Cecily sat there for a long time just looking into the smoldering ashes. What is wrong with this woman? No one really thinks like that. She knelt down and poked at the embers with a stick, causing them to crumble to ashes. Even if it is real, it will fall apart like everything else someday. When will it hurt more, to leave now or wait till she pushes me away? Cecily dozed off in the hot summer night there by the fire while contemplating and arguing with herself.

Lilly sat in the tent, and watched Cecily until she fell asleep. When she heard the young girl whimper in a dream, Lilly went out and laid down with her, wrapped her arm over the small frame and pulled her close. She felt the shivering stop and tense muscle relax. Together they slept there on the ground, the liger and the mouse that had captured an once empty part of her heart.

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