Jake paced back and forth endlessly across the room, tail lashing angrily, his mind trying to find the right words to say. But, they wouldn't come out. Everytime he looked up to see his brother just leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his amber eyes narrowed dangerously.

Katskill City Lt. Commander James Clawson remained immobile, his position against the wall the same since he'd gotten there. Finding this unusual silence rather annoying, he finally spoke, shifting his weight from one leg to the next.

"So, no words to say, little brother?" asked the taller, black kat casually. "Or you're still that shocked to see me?"

"I'm thinking!" Jake spat back.

"Then quit pacing. You're making me dizzy."

Jake just didn't know what he found more irritating. His brother's sudden appearance in MKC after so many years, or his sarcasm. Whichever it was, the smaller kat was finally compelled into stopping in his tracks and gave his brother a glare.

"Where've you been all this time?!" he demanded.

"Twenty miles away by car, a half hour away by plane," James returned coolly. "Funny how you never considered asking Dad to drive you over there to pay me a visit."

"*Ten* years, James!" Jake pointed a finger in his general direction. "You never wrote! You never called, either!"

James shrugged. "I had my reasons, Jake. One of them would be to drop everything, including my family, to provide enough cash to send for *your* education."

"You could've *found* time!"

"Oh, yeah. Here, lemme try that." James held his fingers up to imitate a phone call. "Yes, hello, Commander Whiteclaw. This is Lt. Comm. Clawson. I can't go out and lead the Alpha Squadron today to prevent the everyday attacks on Katskill because my little brother beckons me to come over and pay him a visit. So sorry to put you down. I'll be gone for a few hours. Hope you can hold those creeplings off while I'm away. And, try not to get bitten, either. Don't want you becoming one of them in the process. Bye."

By the time he'd finished, Jake was already snarling. "Stop mocking me, you got that?!"

"I wasn't mocking you, little brother. I was pretty much explaining what I've been doing for the past ten years." James' eyes narrowed. "You think MKC's the only place that's got creepling infestation?"

Jake continued growling.

"Which reminds me," James went on. "Did you have fun during your two year vacation with Dark Kat?"

"Don't you *dare* change the subject all of a sudden. You didn't even answer my question!"

"Oh, I answered it pretty well in my honest opinion." James once again shifted his weight against the wall. "In fact, I think I gave you more info than what you needed to know."

Yet another snarl was tossed in his general direction. James never flinched.

"C'mon, Jake. I come here getting a call from Mom saying that the Enforcers 'finally caught the SWAT Kats.' 'Really?' I ask. 'Oh, yes,' she replies. 'Who are they?' I ask again. You know what I get instead of a clear response? She starts crying, Jake. And, if that doesn't make things any worse, she starts asking me where in the world she went wrong to have her youngest son become an outlaw."

---------------------------------

'I can see the light in the distance, traveling in the dark cloak of night...'

James let out a small sigh, his green eyes watching MegaKat City from beyond the porch. He never stopped tossing the small baseball into his hand as he continued to be mesmerized by the city's lights in the distance.

At any given time, he would have just stood up and left, but he couldn't. He was here on a mission: to bring his family together again. But, what upset him at the moment is that he couldn't dedicate his time to his own family.

He'd left the house over ten years ago, and that was only the start of his new life. Years of hard work, boot camp and rough army sergeants were what led him to his position as Lt. Commander of the Katskill Enforcers. What seemed like an eternity was finally rewarded when he'd settled down with the she-kat of his dreams and had his own set of twins.

But what he'd told Amanda and the twins didn't leave either party satisfied. Quite frankly, he was upset for forcing himself to stay like this.

It broke his heart every time he heard the tiny voices through the phone asking when their daddy was coming home.

"I don't know," was becoming too cliche' for him, and he was pretty sure his kids felt the same way, not to mention his wife. 'Darnit, Jake,' he thought. 'Why weren't you more careful?'

A hand on his shoulder laid his musings to rest. A gentle hand. Looking up, he forced a smile towards his mother.

"Hey, Ma."

Momma Clawson returned the smile, then sat beside him.

"The skyline hasn't changed a bit, has it?" he asked.

"Not since you left," she replied. "It's always been this peaceful at night."

James nodded, making a thoughtful sound as he tossed the ball into his hand anew.

Momma Clawson sighed. "You just don't know how happy we are to have you back, James," she said.

"I'm happy to see you, too, Ma. But... you do realize that I can't stay here forever."

"I know you have to go back. If you feel that the time is now, then we're not pressuring you."

James shook his head. "Not until I make sure my dimwitted sibling is sane enough to be on his own."

"James Clawson, he's your brother. He's always looked up to you." Momma Clawson's tone of voice and reminder brought back a memory that even James couldn't help but wince at.

----------------()------------------

"C'mon, Squirt! You're lagging again!"

"I am *not* a squirt. Stop calling me that!" Jake yelled at the top of his lungs, doing the impossible to catch up as James raced towards the tree house.

"Squirt! Squirt!" James continued the name calling as he climbed the first limb.

"You're being a mean big brother!" Jake used all he could muster to try and reach the branch James was standing on. However, all he'd managed to do was leave claw marks on the limb. He looked up from his seated position on the grass when he landed.

"Told ya'! Ya' still gotta grow, Squirt!"

James continued to climb, then paused to look down, frowning once Jake stood up to try to catch the limb again. Again, he failed. With a disgruntled sigh, he climbed back down, nimbly landing on his feet.

"Okay, Squirt. I'll help ya' climb up. Let's go."

Jake gave James a glare that only he himself understood and swatted his brother's hand away.

"I can do it myself," the smaller kitten answered. "And, stop calling me 'Squirt.'"

"Alright, Rodent," James challenged. "Climb up that tree without any help. I dare you."

Determined more than ever to beat his older brother at this game of "best climber," Jake gave the branch another look, and took the highest leap he could manage.

"Got it!" he claimed, hanging from the branch like a broken yo-yo from its string. That announced, he proceeded to force himself up, or tried to anyway. His small arms didn't have enough strength to get him back up. Sighing finally, he turned to his brother. "James, help me up? Please?"

"Say it first," James returned, casually leaning against the tree.

"Aww, James..."

"You wanna get up that tree, dontcha?"

"Yeah..." Jake gave out another sigh.

"Then say it, Rodent."

Keeping himself hanging from the tree branch, Jake finally complied.

"James Clawson is the greatest kat in the whole world..."

"Go on."

"... and..." Jake paused to keep his hands from slipping. "... I'm gonna be like him when I grow up. He's my hero!"

"Hey, that final bit wasn't part of it!"

"But... you're still my hero, big brother."

Sighing, but yet with a grin he couldn't avoid, James went ahead to form a cat's cradle with his hands, helping Jake onto the branch before leaping up after him.

--------------()-------------------

Face buried in his hands, James gave out a another heavy sigh. "He always wanted to be like me, didn't he?"

Momma Clawson nodded. "After you went away to join the Katskill Enforcers, Jake decided to follow your footsteps, even during High School. And, he succeeded."

"Not only that," James murmured. "After getting kicked out, he developed my attitide. Good kats, Ma. He's *become* me!"