Thanks so much to HowAboutThat, A M4D TE4-P4RTY, pouncii and persevera for reviewing chapter one. xx

A cold grey light was beginning to seep into the sky over London by the time Bombalurina stretched her cramped limbs and got unsteadily to her feet. It felt like it had been the longest night of her life. The red queen had sat in the dark, alone, waiting for Munkustrap, terrified that Macavity could return at any minute. Every noise had made her jump and tremble and she had been tempted more than once to just give up and go and check on Demeter instead. Then the thought of Munkustrap arriving back to be ambushed by Macavity had made her stay where she was. Somebody had to warn him and explain what had happened.

Now that it was getting light and there was still no sign of Munkustrap Bombalurina decided that she had to do something. Chewing her lip nervously she walked a few steps towards the gate of the Junkyard and peered cautiously out. Nothing moved in the street beyond. The red queen wasn't quite sure whether to be relieved or worried by this. On the one hand Macavity was nowhere to be seen but on the other hand neither was her friend.

As Bombalurina stood there studying the gloomy alley in front of her a sudden feeling of unease settled over her. It felt almost like somebody was watching her. The red queen shuddered and wrapped her arms protectively around herself. Taking a step back she looked around at the dark shapes of the junk around her, looming threateningly in the half-light. The unpleasant thought occurred that anybody could be hidden in the shadows waiting to attack her when her back was turned. Slowly the queen began to back away from the gates.

A noise behind her made her jump and whip round, claws out, teeth bared. "Bomba?" Alonzo was stood behind her looking confused. "What's wrong? What are you doing out here at this time in the morning?" The black and white tom approached slowly and put a paw on her shoulder making her flinch. With a slightly hurt look Alonzo dropped his paw again.

"Sorry." Bombalurina shrugged apologetically and glanced anxiously over her shoulder. For a brief second she thought she saw large yellow eyes watching them from behind an old oven. She blinked and looked again but the eyes had gone. It must just be tiredness, she decided, she was just imagining things. Still she couldn't quite shake the feeling that there was somebody else there with them. Firmly the queen shook her head and told herself that she was just being paranoid. She turned back to Alonzo. "Munkustrap's not back yet. I've been waiting for him. I think something might have happened to him. Macavity was here and he tried to hurt Jemima and I'm worried that he's got Munkustrap," she told him in a panicked rush trying desperately to make him grasp the seriousness of the situation.

"Slow down, slow down." Alonzo held up a paw to stop her. "What do you mean Macavity was here? When? Why did nobody tell me?" He scanned the area but to his relief there was no sign of any immediate danger.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves Bombalurina started again, "Demeter, Jemima and I were waiting for Munkustrap to get home and Macavity appeared. It was like he came from nowhere. Jemima thought it was Munkustrap and ran towards him so he grabbed her. Alonzo, he was going to kill her! Then he just suddenly vanished again, I don't know why, and Munkustrap still isn't back yet." Bombalurina wasn't quite sure why she was lying to Alonzo. It just didn't seem right to tell him what Demeter had said. Demeter had never told anyone before, not even her best friend, and for all Bombalurina knew it was only a clever lie to distract Macavity and save Jemima's life.

From the look on his face it was clear that Alonzo suspected that she knew more than she was saying but he let it go, at least for the moment. "Where are Demeter and Jemima now?", he asked urgently, "Are they safe?" When the red queen nodded he grabbed her paw and began to pull her back towards the main clearing in the Junkyard where all the dens were. "Go and look after them, Bomba. I'm going to get all the toms and go and look for Munkustrap. Make sure everyone stays inside until we get back and don't go wandering off on your own. It wasn't safe being outside all night with Macavity around."

Mutely Bombalurina nodded. Now that there was somebody else in charge of the situation she suddenly felt exhausted, dizzy and sick. She just wanted to go to bed and wake up to find everything back to normal, Munkustrap safe with them and no Macavity, but she knew she had to go and take care of Demeter. Just the thought of trying to cheer somebody else up made her feel drained.

Slowly she turned away from Alonzo, who was rushing to organise a search party, and made her way over to her friend's den. "Demeter? Are you in there?", she called softly through the door, "Can I come in?" There was no answer, the den stayed silent and dark and nobody came to open the door.

In a panic the red queen threw herself against the door. She didn't even want to imagine what could have happened while she was sat uselessly outside. Macavity could have sneaked into Demeter's den and killed her and Jemima and it would all be her fault for not looking after them properly. With a sob Bombalurina flung herself against the door a second time. It burst open and she leapt inside. Her paws were shaking and she could hear the blood rushing in her ears. Frantically she scanned the room. There was no sign of a struggle, in fact nothing was out of place at all and the den looked just like it always did.

"Hello? Demeter?", Bombalurina whispered nervously and advanced a few steps into the empty room, "Are you in here?"

"Bomba?", a small voice asked tearfully, "Is that you?" Jemima crept out of the shadows behind the open door. When she recognised her mother's best friend she rushed across the den and flung herself into the older queens arms. "Is everything alright again?", she sniffed hopefully, wiping her large dark eyes on the back of her paw, "Is Daddy home now?"

Avoiding the question Bombalurina hugged the little kitten and affectionately ruffled her fur. "Jem, where's your mother?", she asked scanning the room again for any signs of Demeter. Then she noticed her friend curled up on the floor by the door. Tears still stained her cheeks and her eyes were swollen and red, as if she had cried herself to sleep. With a sigh Bombalurina let go of Jemima and fetched a cushion which she gently tucked under Demeter's head. In the bedroom Demeter and Munkustrap shared Bombalurina found a warm fluffy blanket that she draped over the sleeping queen. There was no point waking her up to tell her the bad news, Bombalurina decided, much better to just let her get some rest and hopefully by the time she woke up Munkustrap would be home again anyway. In the meantime she would make some breakfast for little Jemima and keep her busy so that she wouldn't think about her horrible encounter with Macavity. The red queen turned back to the queen-kit and smiled as cheerfully as she could manage. "Would you like something nice to eat, Jemmie? How about pancakes?"

Jemima looked up at Bombalurina with sad eyes brimming with tears. "Daddy hasn't come home, has he?", she asked miserably. From the moment Bombalurina had entered the den Jemima had known there was something wrong. If Munkustrap had been there he would have come to make sure they were alright and not sent Bombalurina.

Dropping to her knees beside the black and white kitten Bombalurina pulled her into another tight hug. "No, Jem, he hasn't. I waited all night but he didn't show up. He has probably just been delayed and will be home today," she explained in a bright cheery voice that betrayed none of the worry she was feeling, "Alonzo is organising a search party just in case though and no before you ask, you can't go with them. We are supposed to wait here in case he comes home and look after your mother. She had a really nasty shock last night. You have to be brave and help me take care of her. Can you do that for me?"

Reluctantly Jemima nodded. If there was any possibility that something had happened to her dad then she wanted to be out there looking for him not stuck at home with nothing to do. She hated feeling useless more than anything else. How was she supposed to sit quietly while other people were out there looking for some one she loved? Jemima could have screamed. It was just not fair. Why did bad things have to happen to them? Why couldn't Macavity just leave them all in peace? Angrily she brushed her tears away. She was not going to let herself cry any more. If there was nothing else she could do then she was determined to cheer up her mother when she woke up. "Let's make some pancakes for Mummy," she suggested to Bombalurina, matching the older queen's relaxed tone, "She'll like that." The little kitten led the way into the kitchen humming softly to herself under her breath.

Sighing Bombalurina followed her. She had the awful feeling that this was going to be a very long day.