"Ow... it hurts" that was Tugger...
"Stop whining!" Jenny definitely...
"I still can't believe she -bit- you!" Gears obviously "I mean I've heard of girls squeezing so hard they break bone but I've never heard of a girl -biting-!"
The conversation stopped suddenly and there were footsteps, "You're awake?" It was a question, not a fact as the bed Kira was lying on shifted under the Main Coon's weight.
Kira mumbled slightly and lifted her head. How long had she been asleep? Where...Oh! Her eyes flew open in a moment of frantic worry. "Tugger-" Oh jeez! No sitting up to fast, she'd note that down for later reference.
The night had turned blurry and foggy to her. She remembered the pain and..."Are they okay?" She asked. It hadn't been one child, she remembered that.
Tugger kissed her softly to quiet her. "Yes Keers... They are doing great." The Maine Coon kissed her forehead and grinned. He looked over his shoulder to Gears.
The young man had changed into his normal attire while she was sleeping but that wasn't what she noticed. He was holding a tiny blanket that looked too small to be anything other than a blanket.
"All four of them" Tugger added as Gears gingerly put the blanket into Kira's arms. The blanket held a tiny kitten though it didn't seem like a new born.
Kira took the bundle and stared down at the little kitten. "Kittens. I gave birth to kittens." She shook her head in disbelief but held the little bundle close and smiled up at Tugger. "Four...Girls? Boys?"
"Two girls, two boys." Jelly said as she walked in with another bundle held tenderly in her arms. Asparagus had the last two and handed them over to Tugger and Kira.
Her smile glowed as she looked down at them. "What about names?" She leaned against her Love, unable to take her eyes off the kitten she held.
"Naomh!" Gears declared and beamed, "I was looking up old Celtic names because I remember you liked them." Gears took one of the tiny queens from Aparagus and held it close, "It's Divine One" The kitten in his arms looked nearly six weeks old just like her brothers and sister and she pawed at Gears' nose.
Kira smiled. "Naomh. I like that," she looked up at Tugger, wondering what he thought too. Her fingers stroked delicately a tuft of fur of the little tomkit she held. "Celtic..." Her voice was soft as her mind slowly went back over a list. "Féargal. Valor."
"I like it." Munkustrap said as he ducked into the den a broad almost proud smile on his face. He went to Kira's side and smiled, "How are you doing?"
Jelly gasped, "Deidre! I'm sorry it's the only Celtic name I know... or was it Gaelic... Either way it means Little One. It suits her." She smiled widely and held he queen tighter.
"Old Deuteronomy's Father was called Piryan, Small Black Son." Asparagus smiled down at the tomkitten in his arms as the others did.
Tugger laughed softly as he used a single finger to stroke the top of Feárgal's head, "I was going to call them Kira junior and Tugger junior.... I like these names better!"
Gears laughed, though not with the Maine coon, more at him. He was still rocking even after he had successfully lulled little Naomh to sleep in his arms. "Jelly says we should wait here for a few more hours until you are ready to travel. Then we can take you home." He spoke the last bit to the sleeping bundle in his arms.
Kira smiled. Either Tugger didn't have as much creativity or he was just traditional, either way she was glad he liked them too. She had read about parents arguing over names, it was one thing she hadn't wanted. Nodding she looked down at Féargal again and cooed softly. He gave the cutest ever yawn and nestled into her arms. Sleep sounded nice. Curled up with Feárgal in her arms and Tugger beside her she easily drifted to a peaceful sleep.
It seemed like only a short five minutes when Tugger gently touched her shoulder, letting her know it was time to go home. Nodding and brushing the sleep out of her eyes she slowly stood, Feárgal still in her arms.
Gears helped Kira into the car. Tugger and himself had to half carry her. They didn't have car seats or anything so Gears held Naomh and Deidre while Tugger held his sons.
"I got it!" Gears used his knee to open the door and shuffled into the living room. He set the queen kittens onto the couch and smiled, "Home sweet home girls!"
"And boys!" Tugger corrected. He had given Kira Piryan and was holding both her and Féargal as they slowly made their way up the stairs and into her house.
"They look old... for new born kits I mean." Gears crouched by the queens and studied them, "About six or seven weeks in normal cat age I'd say. You'd never know they were born this morning!"
Kira nodded as she looked down at Piryan. "Well...Cats aren't pregnant for three months. So they had a little more time to grow?" Seemed like a good guess, she shrugged slightly and thanked Tugger as he set her on his feet. She was glad to be home as she looked around her house. It was good size but did they have a place for a babies room? In her mind, she saw the closed door. The door that had been shut tight for quite a few years. Since...She shook her head.
"We need a place for them to sleep." She said, tracing a little stripe on Piryan's head.
Gears and Tugger both looked at her with apologetic expressions and Tugger hugged her, careful not to crush Piryan. "We have to go in there sometime..." He kissed her forehead and took both the tomkittens. He put them with their sisters to sleep on the couch.
Gears nuzzled Naomh softly, "Go ahead... I'll watch them.
She took a deep breath and nodded. Turning she headed up the stairs, a little unsteady at first but the few seconds it took to get to the room were to short for her to gather her thoughts. Reaching up she retrieved a key from the doorframe and unlocked it. Holding Tugger's paw tight she opened the door.
Tugger kissed the top of Kira's head and sighed with relief, "Well I was sort of expecting a big monster to attack us! So by my standards this day is just fantastic!"
Kira tried to smile, but she was distracted by everything she saw. The room was as her father had left it that day. The bed made by just throwing the sheets and comforter up. Pictures all over a section of wall. Cook books lining a shelf, mixed in with other fiction and nonfiction books. His dresser. Everything had a thick layer of dust from being left. Her heart ached as she leaned against Tugger. But he was right, she couldn't just leave the room closed forever, undisturbed. Gulping back tears she walked to the dresser and ran her fingers over the trinkets he had collected. Slowly opening a drawer she pulled out a red fleece shirt and held it tight. "It...all still smells like him." She whispered.
Tugger went to the book shelves and forced a smile, a very small smile, "You ready?" He waited for her nod before he began stacking the books which had been thrown al over the room. The books were nearly half of everything in the room and once he was finished, with two dozen stacks or so of novels and fairy tales and fables and biographies and cook books and comics, the room seemed empty.
She didn't know if she'd have the strength to get rid of anything. Luckily her father had mostly books. She'd split the books between her room and the living room bookshelf and whatever was left over...She'd find somewhere to put them. Leave some in here even, the fairytales and such. Slowly her fingers worked through his clothes, making two piles: Those going to be donated. And the few articles she refused to donate and kept.
Quietly the ache in her heart dulled as she went into worker-mode. After the clothes were sorted she went to the bed and stripped the dusty sheets off, rolling them up and going downstairs to put them in the laundry room. She hardly looked at Gears as she passed before dropping them on the washing machine and heading back.
Gears caught her on her way back and pulled her into a bear hug, complete with lifting her off the ground and spinning her in a small circle. "Love!" He smiled elatedly and his hands formed a heart before he bounced back to the couch to watch the little ones.
Tugger was busy wiping everything down when she finally came back up. He had down half the room and was trying with all his might t move the bed on his own.
Kira was caught by surprise and watched him return to her children. For the first time since she had opened her fathers room a small smile tugged at her lips. But then, Gears always knew how to get her to smile. As soon as she walked back she rushed to the bed to help. "What are the plans?" She just realized she hadn't come up with any baby-room plans at all.
"Well..." He grunted as the bed finally moved, "I was thinking since they can already sort of walk..." He chuckled softly and his gaze was distant, remembering his kitten's wobbles and them falling over, "We could just put the mattress on the floor."
Kira nodded. "Sounds like a good plan." She tugged on the mattress and settled it on the floor before going to the closet and pulling out her fathers toolbox that had been left there since he had installed that vent after the cooking experiment gone ary here in his room. The task of taking the bed frame apart took maybe fifteen minutes even with Tugger's help. After dropping the last piece in the hall she stood in the doorway and looked at the room. How clean and...different it looked already. And they weren't even finished.
Tugger chuckled inwardly and looked around the room, "I think I'll let Gears paint it!"
Seeming to morph out of no where, Gears poked his head around the doorframe, "Can I?!" He grinned widely and almost bounced at the idea.
Kira smiled softly. "I was thinking that too. Dad would have liked you to paint his room. He always did like 'Crazy Gears'." She nudged his shoulder with hers and rested her head on it. She remembered the few times they had had Gears over for supper and her father pretending to follow intently Gears' strange art logic about his sculptures and whatnot.
Gears half nuzzled into her and bounced a bit more before Kira noticed he had Noamh in his arms, "You wanna help too girl?" He rubbed between her eyes and smirked.
Naomh purred and mewed softly pawing at his nose as if asking to be put down. Once her paws touched the floor she swaggered over to the mattress and scrambled to get on top of it.
Tugger chuckled again, "All righty then! We'll leave you two to it!" The Maine Coon forced Kira from the room and brought in Gears' trunk of art supplies from the living room.
Kira smiled at her daughter before Tugger forced her downstairs. Picking up Piryan, who was struggling with the blanket wrapped around him, she freed him and hugged him close. Then she heard scratching at the sliding glass door. "Oh! I forgot about Gem! Tugger could you let her in? You know where her dog food is." She would have gotten up herself if Deirdre hadn't wandered onto her lap and Féargal was 'attacking' her foot.
Tugger let the great dane in and ruffled her floppy ears, "Morning Gemmy! Ya big lovely you!" He made a bit more baby talk to the huge dog before the scent of kittens caught her attention.
Gem rushed past the Maine Coon and into the living room. She stopped an inch from Féargal who poofed to full poofiness and glared at her.
For a brief second Kira's heart stopped. Then she remembered, this was Gem. The great dane she had had for quite a few years. Still...Motherly instinct was still uneasy. "Easy girl, easy. C'mere Féargal." She reached down and picked up the puff-ball of a kit and set him on her lap next to his sister.
"See? She wont hurt you." Kira reached out and patted Gem who was still sniffing the kits but obediently doing only that. Though her tail waved back and forth. To Gem, the kittens smelled like kittens and her owner. Yipping she grinned goofily and nuzzled each of the three kittens. Her nose just about as big as each kittens head. "Good girl." Kira smiled.
Gem yipped again, which was more of a grunt and licked Piryan's cheek. Unfortunately, the dane's tongue was bigger than the kitten himself and Piryan was instant covered in drool from whiskers to tail.
Piryan yelped and attempted to poof though nothing happened because he was drenched. He looked up at Kira and blinked confusedly.
Kira bit her lip to keep from smiling. Grabbing one of the blankets she patted him down and cooed. "It's okay. A little doggy drool never hurt anyone. But you three be nice to her okay? That goes for you and the kits missy!" She tapped Gem's nose, to which the great dane tilted her head then sat down.
"There we are," Kira said after drying little Piryan off. His fur stuck up in all sorts of directions, and his expression didn't help the look. "Hm. I think I'm going to need a brush."
Tugger laughed loudly at the spikey kitten with huge eyes. "I've got one" He handed her a comb and sat down on the floor between the kittens, Kira and Gem. "Who's a good girl?" He ruffled the dane's headfur and cooed.
Gem groaned pleasantly and flopped onto her side exposing her big stomach for Tugger to pet.
Kira chuckled and gently combed out the kittens fur and set him down on the floor where he wobbled over to Tugger and peered around him at the big dog. Feárgal followed his brother and looked uncertainty at the great dane.
Absently Kira ran her fingers through Deirdre's headfur. She seemed content to just sit on her mothers lap, purring. After a while of listening to the purring and Tugger cooing to Gem and the kittens, Kira spoke a question she had been thinking about since the birth. "Hey Tugger, when do they change. Or whatever you call it. To be honest I had expected 'kittens' like...little Jellicles. Not kitten kittens." Rocking Deirdre she wrinkled her nose. "Don't know if I'm making sense anymore..."
Tugger nibbled at his lower lip and idly stroked Gem's big belly as he thought. "All Jellicles as born as kitten kittens. They can shift usually around their 6 month mark but our kits.... well it's impossible to tell." He smiled and shrugged.
The door to the soon-to-be-nursery glided open and a tiny mew was heard. Down the stairs came Naomh.... who was rather neon pink from ears to tail.
"Sorry!" Came an apologetic call from Gears who was still busy painting.
Kira had opened her mouth to respond when her fourth and final kitten came down the stairs. For a second she was speechless before bringing her palm to her forehead. "GEARS!" It wasn't exactly a yell of anger, nor of shock. More concern. Setting Deirdre on the couch beside her she scooped up Naomh. "How the...Bath. Now." She muttered.
Gear poked his head out from the doorway and smiled embarrassedly, "Sorry!" He repeated. His black and green hair was a tyedye of too many colors to count and more were streaked over his face and neck. Kira dared not think of what the rest of his looked like behind the wall.
Tugger was lying on his back when she returned to the living on her way to the bathroom. He had a great dane flopped over his knees and three tiny kittens taking catnaps on his mane.
"Always a mess!" She said rolling her eyes, but couldn't help the small smile. Especially when she saw Tugger. "Well apparently you're a bit preoccupied to help with the bath." Her witches costume, that she hadn't realized she was still wearing, was now striped and spotted with the pink as she turned and headed up the stairs and to the bathroom.
After filling the tub with a little water she set Naomh down in it. Silently hoping her kittens wouldn't mind water.
Naomh seemed to take after her in that she started playing around in the bath the moment she discovered the water was under her. She tried numerous times to tackle the waves, only to form larger ones which she attacked next.
Kira smiled and let out a sigh of relief as she set about scrubbing and shampooing her daughter's fur. Finally after a little while she picked Naomh out of the water and wrapped her in a towel as she drained the now pink-tinted water.
Towel and all, she walked back down the stairs, fluffing Naomh up as she went. Sitting back on the couch she released her, still slightly pink in spots, but cleaner daughter. Who shook her fur out, hopped off her lap and went over to her father.
Tugger was long gone, snoring deeply under the majority of their family. He soon acquired a forth kitten who curled up in his mane and they were content to all sleep together happily.
With the sound of the kittens gone Kira easily heard the startled yelp and crashing sounds from the nursery, "Bast!.... I'm ok!" Gears yelled out and there were many more muttered curses and scolds at himself.
Kira had stretched out on the couch, watching the kittens and Tugger with a soft smile. But jumped when she heard Gears. Standing she went up the stairs with a confused expression. "Gears?" She said as she reached the door and opened it a tad.
The walls had more colors on them than Gears did.... though the number was close. He was sitting in the last corner, finishing his huge, four-wall mural when she came in. He tilted his head back and smiled at her. From finger tips to shoulders he was covered in a grey neutral from all the colors mixing and Kira slowly realized he was finger painting the entire room.
Kira spun on her heals in order to see the whole room. Each wall was its own masterpiece and each seemed familiar but she couldn't place it.
She spun in four complete circles before she realized it. Elements! Each of the four walls was painted to represent an element. Earth; structure and straight lines. Fire; radial lines and energy. Air was light and spirited and water.... it almost calmed her to look at it.
Finally she stopped and looked at Gears. "Gears....You…finger-painted all this?" A smile appeared. "I'd give you a hug but I'm already covered in one color to much," she chuckled slightly. " Thank you. So very, very much. It's perfect." And indeed it was.