"You are not my cat." Sirius said, staring at the calico that had appeared in his kitchen. The cat didn't respond. "How did you get into my house?" The cat stared at him unblinking then meowed and jumped onto the counter beside his sink. "I can't have a cat." The cat daintily lifted her paw to her face and began cleaning her face, as if she were saying What are you gonna do about it?
"Sirius, why is there a cat on our kitchen counter?" Sirius was broken from his staring contest with the cat at his husband's voice.
"I honestly have no idea." Sirius replied, turning to look at Remus.
"Sirius, we can't have a cat." Remus said, walking over to the animagus and wrapping his arms around Sirius's waist.
"I know-" Sirius was cut off as Remus kissed him. Sirius groaned and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms tight around his husband's back. "I know." He said breathlessly when Remus finally broke the kiss. "And I have no idea how she got into the house. She was just there when I got up."
"She doesn't look like a stray. She probably got in through and open window or something." Remus gave an exasperated look to the cat who was still sitting by their sink grooming herself. "Put her outside and then change your shirt. We don't need Eric's allergies acting up just because you held a cat."
Sirius nodded in answer before walking over to the cat and picking her up. She didn't struggle as he carried her outside. He noticed that her fur was very soft, and thought that Remus was probably correct in thinking that she had an owner somewhere. No stray would be that well-groomed, or fat, no matter how well it took care of itself. He gently set the calico down on their front porch before giving her a stern look. "I'm sorry, but we can't let you stay here. We have a four year old who's allergic to cats, otherwise I would be happy to keep you." The cat stared at him for a few moments before turning and jumping off the porch and walking into the woods behind their house.
The next day Sirius was in the kitchen making coffee for himself and Remus when he heard a meow. The cat was back, sitting on the counter right where she had been that first day, once again grooming herself. Sirius stared down at the pretty calico with narrowed eyes. "Why are you back?" The cat didn't bother looking up from her grooming session. "You really can't be here. You're pretty, but with Eric's allergies we can't have a cat in our house."
"Papa!" The child in question screamed as he ran into the kitchen, his other father trailing behind him.
"The cat's back." Sirius told his husband as he picked up their son. "Would you mind putting her outside before Eric starts sneezing?"
"Kitty!" Eric screamed as he caught sight of the cat hat was now in his dad's arms. "Daddy, I wanna pet it!"
"You know you can't pet the cat, Eric." Sirius said to the four year old perched on his hip. "You'll start feeling bad if you do, and you don't want that, do you?" Eric shook his head. "Daddy's going to put her outside and go change shirts, and then we're going to have pancakes and sausage for breakfast, how does that sound?"
Eric squealed as Sirius started tickling his stomach. "Papa, stop it!" He was still giggling loudly several minutes later when Remus walked back into the kitchen.
"What are we having for breakfast?" Remus asked. He had forgone putting on a new shirt in favor of a bare torso. Sirius always appreciated it when Remus went shirtless, especially now, when Remus's stomach was round with their second and third children. They were both surprised when Eric came along, as neither of them had known that male werewolves could get pregnant, but their son was a very welcome surprise. They were overjoyed when they learned that Remus was now carrying twins.
Sirius was broken out of his thoughts when Remus repeated his question. "Pancakes and sausage." Sirius answered as attempted to secure Eric in his booster seat, giving up as the four year old furiously insisted that he could do it himself and pushed Sirius's hands away.
"Delicious." Remus grinned. He leaned over to help Eric, who could not do it himself, buckle the straps on the seat. "Make sure you put chocolate chips in mine."
"Of course." Sirius rolled his eyes lovingly at his husband as he set to work on cooking.
"I want chocolate chips too!" Eric shouted. The little boy had inherited his father's sweet tooth, and Sirius made sure that they always had some of Honeyduke's best chocolate stashed away for when he had a particularly difficult night.
"Oh, don't forget Lily and James are bringing Harry and Amanda over for a playdate this afternoon." Remus reminded his husband. As if Eric would let Sirius forget. Eric adored his god-siblings, even though Harry was almost four years older than him and Amanda only five months old. "I think Peter and Mary were going to bring Sierra too, but I'm not sure. Oh, and Frank and Alice are bringing Neville and Anna."
"Our house is going to be absolutely filled with children today, isn't it?" Sirius grinned at the thought. He and Remus both wanted a big family, and they were well on their way to reaching that goal. "I think Reg is bringing Lyra over too."
"Is Severus coming with him?" Remus asked. Sirius's scowl was answer enough. Though he and Severus Snape had come to a shaky truce for Regulus's sake, Sirius would never like his brother-in-law, and he was not afraid to let it be known. He could put up with the Potion's Master for a short time, especially when his newborn niece, who had been born via a surrogate, was around, but he would eventually lose his temper at the former Slytherin. He honestly didn't know what his brother saw in the prickly bastard, but Sirius understood that you didn't get to choose who you loved.
"Okay, so we're going have Harry, Amanda, Neville, Anna, Lyra, and possibly Sierra over today." Sirius said as he set the now-finished pancakes and sausage in front of his husband and son. "Ought to be fun."
It was not fun. Lyra, Amanda, and Anna were all colicky, and their screaming was starting to give Sirius a headache. "You okay, mate?" James asked from his seat on the couch. He was rubbing circles in his daughter's back to try to sooth her, but it didn't seem to be helping.
Sirius winced as Amanda let out a particularly loud wail. "I think I need to take a pain potion lay down. Could you keep an eye on Eric for a little while and make sure none of the rugrats destroy anything important?" He asked, looking at Alice, Lily, and Mary, who all nodded in response.
"Go get as much rest as you need." Alice said sympathetically. As a dog animagus herself, she understood that so many crying babies could easily cause a headache.
"What, a few screaming children too much for you, Black?" Sever sneered at the animagus. Sirius didn't bother vocalizing his reply, instead flicking his brother-in-law off as he walked into the kitchen to grab a headache reliever.
"Motherfucker!" He shouted in alarm.
"What is it?" James asked as he rushed into the kitchen behind his best friend, still-squalling infant perched on his hip. He froze as he caught site of what had startled Sirius. There, sitting right in the same place she had been early that morning, and the morning before, laid the calico cat. This time though, she wasn't alone. Three tiny kittens were nestled against the cat's belly. "When did you get a cat? I thought Eric was allergic."
"We didn't, and he is." Sirius growled. "She just showed up yesterday morning. We put her outside but then she came back this morning. We put her outside again, but now she's back, and she gave birth in our kitchen." The unknown cat giving birth in the middle of their kitchen was probably an omen for something. Probably.
"Well, you can't just put a nursing mother outside." James said, rocking his finally-silent daughter in his arms as she began to fall asleep.
"Sirius, why did you yell?" Remus asked sleepily as he walked into the kitchen.
"The cat's back."
Remus's eyes snapped to where the cat lay. "Motherfucker." The werewolf whispered. "What are we going to do?" Remus asked, looking back at his husband.
"Hold on one second." Sirius said as he walked back to doorway leading into the living room. "Hey, does anyone want a cat and three kittens?"
"Why do you ask?" Regulus asked back.
"Because there's currently a cat with three newborn kittens in our kitchen and we can't keep them because of that one." He answered, pointing at Eric, who was currently being carried around the room by Sierra and Harry.
Alice and Frank shared a look between themselves. "We were thinking of getting a pet. Neville's getting to that age where he needs to learn some responsibility. I guess we could take them." Frank said.
"We'll take one of the kittens when they're old enough." Peter added. "Sierra's been begging for a kitten for months." Mary nodded in agreement.
"Thank Merlin. I didn't want to have to just put them outside or something." Sirius said. He would have done it for Eric's sake, but he would have felt extremely guilty about it.
"Maybe we'll take one too when they're older. We never did get another animal after Millie, and I've really missed having a pet in the house." Lily smiled fondly at the memory of her cat that had died of old age a year prior. "I'll have to talk to James about it, of course, but I definitely want a new cat."
"Got it. I'll go let Remus know." Sirius said, turning around and walking back into the kitchen, where his husband was crouched down petting the cat. "Alice and Frank are going to take them, Peter and Mary are going to take one of the kittens when they're old enough, and Lily wants one, too." He looked at James when he said the last bit.
"Well, that solves that problem." Remus said as he stood slowly, groaning in complaint and regretting ever crouching down. "You know Eric is going to want a pet now, too, since all of his friends will have one."
"We'll get him a puppy. I've always wanted a puppy." Sirius said, grinning at the thought of a new dog to run around with.
"You are a puppy." Remus snorted as walked over to Sirius.
"I'm your puppy." Sirius whispered, nuzzling against the werewolf.
"Get a room, you two." James said before walking back into the living room, his now-sleeping daughter cradled in his arms.
"Gladly!" Sirius shouted after his best friend. His pounding headache had been reduced to a dull throb after getting away from the crying children, but he still needed to lie down for a while. Sirius smirked at his husband, "What do you say we take Prongs's advice? I've got a killer headache and could do with some rest and relaxation. The ladies are keeping an eye on Eric."
"I think I just might take you up on that offer. Rest sounds great right about now. I got woken up from my nap a little earlier than expected, and these little ones are getting very restless. My back aches, and I would love to lie down." Remus rubbed his stomach and smiled. With only two weeks left before the babies were due, Remus got all the rest he could. He smile turned into a grimace. "Unfortunately, we can't right now." At Sirius confused look, he continued. "My water just broke."
"Sirius Black, I'm going to fucking kill you when this is over!" Remus shouted as a contraction swept through him. He had been in labor for nearly twelve hours and Sirius knew he was exhausted.
"I love you too, Moony." Sirius said to his husband, realizing that was probably not the best thing to say when Remus growled at him. "Hey, it'll be over soon and then we'll get to hold little Savannah and Clarice." Sirius brushed his hand against Remus's cheek in an attempt to comfort him.
"You're right. Soon-" Remus broke off as another contraction wracked his body. He squeezed Sirius's hand as pain washed through him, and Sirius grimaced. He made a mental note not to tell Remus that his hand was broken from the force with which Remus was squeezing it.
It was another three hours before their daughters finally made it into the world, and though they were only minutes old, Sirius was already in love with the both of them. "They're so tiny." He whispered for the umpteenth time as he stared down at the Clarice, the older of the twins, who was nestled asleep in his arms.
Remus, who was holding Savannah, smiled at his husband. "You've said that at least a dozen times, Sirius."
"I know." Sirius smiled back. "I can't help it. They're just so tiny."
Remus chuckled softly and adjusted the baby in his arms. "Of course they're tiny; they're newborns and they were born two weeks early."
Sirius was stopped from answering by a soft knock on the door. The door opened to reveal Lily, who was carrying Eric. "Hey guys. Someone wanted to see you." She set the four year old down and he ran over to his parents, his godmother trailing behind him.
"Daddy, Papa!" He whisper-shouted. "Aunt Lily said I could come see the new babies."
"Here, why don't you sit on the bed by your daddy, okay?" Lily said softly, picking him up and setting him down beside Remus. "You see your baby sister?"
"Wow, she's tiny." Eric said, looking down at the sleeping baby.
"That's Savannah." Sirius told him. "And this is Clarice." He leaned over so Eric could get a better view of her.
"She's tiny too." Eric looked between the three adults. "Was I that tiny when I was born?"
"You were even smaller than them, but you were born really early too." Sirius answered. He had practically had a panic attack when Remus had gone into labor at thirty-one weeks, and didn't think he had ever been more scared than the day his son was born.
"Oh." Eric looked back down at Clarice. "She looks squishy."
"Yes she does." Sirius laughed softly. "Eric, do you want to hold her?"
The four year old's eyes widened. "Can I?"
"You can, but you have to be really careful, okay?" Sirius answered. He slowly handed the baby over to Eric, showing his exactly how to hold her. "And you've got to keep her head supported because she can't do it herself yet."
"I'm going to go back out into the waiting room for now." Lily said quietly before slipping out of the room, leaving the family alone.
"I love you, Remus. And you too Eric." Sirius smiled at his husband and son. "And of course I love my two little girls." He whispered as he ran his now-healed hand across Savannah's head and then Clarice's. "This is the best day of my life." Sitting there in the hospital room looking at his family, Sirius didn't think he had ever been happier in his entire life. He felt a single tear slide down his face. "The best day of my life."