"What's labor mean?" asked Lilly.
"It means Juliet is having her kittens," explained Rosemary as she went to assist her husband.
"Okay," Lee ran his hands through his hair, doing his best to recall what to do, "We'll need extra towels, gauze pads, a thermometer, some food, water, and scissors," instructed Lee. Rosemary and Aaron went to get the extra supplies from the bathroom while Lee and Lillian heard a knock at the door, "Princess, would go answer the door please?"
"Yes Daddy," Lilly opened the door and smiled when she saw her Godmother, "Hi Aunt Elizabeth!" she threw herself into Elizabeth's arms.
"Hi Lilly," Elizabeth smiled. She observed Rosemary and Aaron come down the stairs, towels in hand, and scowled, "Are you all still coming over to Abigail's? William noticed you come home from the infirmary."
"Oh," Rosemary looked over at Juliet, "I completely forgot. Now isn't a good time. Juliet is in labor."
"Who's Juliet?" asked Elizabeth.
"Our cat," Rosemary pointed over towards a restless Juliet.
"Since when did you all get a cat?" questioned Elizabeth in surprise.
"Not just one cat. We have two," said Lilly happily.
"Romeo's upstairs sleeping on my bed. He's kind of shy," said Aaron.
"We brought them home to make Mommy feel better right before Uncle Jack left," said Lilly.
"I see," said Elizabeth.
"Mommy, are we going to Aunt Abigail's soon?" asked an impatient William.
"Soon, sweetheart," said Elizabeth.
"Actually Elizabeth, I could really use your help," said Lee, "I've delivered kittens before, but it's been awhile. Jack mentioned that your sister had a cat growing up in Hamilton?"
Elizabeth nodded, "Yes, Julie did, and her cat did have kittens at one point. It also has been a long time since I've helped deliver kittens, but I think together we'll manage," she smiled, "William, would you please go over to Aunt Abigail's and explain that I'm helping Uncle Lee and Aunt Rosemary deliver Juliet's kittens and then come straight back here? I will fill in the rest of the details tomorrow after church."
"Okay," said William as he headed towards the café.
Elizabeth, Mary, and Charlotte entered the Coulter house and found the area where Juliet was pacing, "Mommy, can we watch?" asked Charlotte.
"You may," Elizabeth nodded and the twins happily took a seat on the floor.
"Thanks. I just wanted someone else with experience and I don't really want Rosie spending more time on the floor than necessary," said Lee.
"I'm not that fragile, Lee," said Rosemary, pulling the chair over and taking a seat.
"The other day, when we were playing dolls on the floor, it took you three tries to stand up again," said Lilly.
"Lillian," scolded Rosemary and Lilly shrugged innocently.
William returned and asked, "Has Juliet had the kittens yet?"
"No, it takes time, Little Mountie, just like when mommies have babies," said Elizabeth.
Juliet stopped suddenly and started to pant and meow rapidly, "I think the first one is emerging now," observed Rosemary.
"Princess, could you hand me one of the towels?" asked Lee to Lilly. She promptly obeyed and Lee started to help the kitten out.
"Daddy, how do the kittens get out?" asked Aaron sitting next to Lee.
"Well, Buddy, Juliet has a special opening where the kittens will come out," Lee explained.
"So, does Mommy have the same opening?" asked Aaron.
Lee hesitated a little, "Yes."
"So our baby brother or sister won't come out through the belly button?" questioned Aaron curiously.
Elizabeth and Rosemary chuckled a little and Lee couldn't help but laugh, "No, Buddy, babies aren't born through a mommy's belly button."
"Told you!" scolded Lilly.
The first kitten appeared and Juliet chewed open the sack and cord and began to lick the kitten, though the little one was squawking loudly, "Sounds like when Lilly was born," Lee joked to Rosie and Elizabeth and they both nodded in agreement.
"I'm not that noisy," she pouted.
He handed Rosemary the first kitten and said, "Honey, I need you to rub her to keep her warm and breathing while Juliet delivers the rest of the kittens," Rosemary happily took the small, whimpering bundle from Lee. About 90 minutes later, Juliet had successfully delivered three kittens, two females and one male. All of them were strong and healthy, though the middle kitten, the boy, was much quieter than his two sisters. The older female was very noisy, meowing loudly and the other female kitten was whimpering a little, though quieter than her older sister.
Lee and Elizabeth cleaned up and they placed the kittens near Juliet so they could nurse, "They're so tiny!" squealed Lilly excitedly.
Lee kissed her cheek and said, "Now you all know how it felt for us when you all were born." Elizabeth and Rosemary nodded in agreement.
"What are the kittens doing, Mommy?" asked Mary.
"Well, they're eating because Juliet is making special milk for them," explained Elizabeth as best as she could.
"Do human mommies make milk when they have babies?" asked Lilly.
Rosemary nodded, "Yes, we do."
"William, don't you remember when your sisters were born? How they both nursed from me because I made special milk for them?" Elizabeth asked softly.
"Oh yeah," William remembered and then leaned closer to Aaron and Lilly, "If the new baby is anything like them, it'll eat a lot."
Rosemary chuckled, "That's okay, you both nursed from my breasts a lot too."
"Mommy, should we bring Romeo down so he can see the kittens?" asked Lilly.
"Princess, I think it's just best if we let Juliet rest. No matter what species you are, giving birth is very tiring," Lee kissed her cheek.
"Alright," Lilly moped. The Thorntons went home and Lee and Rosemary had their children go upstairs so they could discuss whether or not they would keep the kittens or find other homes for them. Lilly was coming out of the bathroom, when she heard Aaron meowing. She tilted her head slightly. Why on Earth was Aaron meowing? Then she heard another meow, but it wasn't from her brother. It had to be Romeo because Juliet was downstairs so Lee and Rosemary could keep an eye on her. She barged into their room and crossed her arms over her chest, "What are you doing?!" she asked in astonishment.
Aaron looked up at his sister, "Talking to Romeo."
Lilly shook her head in amusement, "Aaron, Romeo can't understand you. You're not a cat."
"But I think he can. Look," Aaron laid back down in his stomach, "Meow. Meow." Sure enough, Romeo meowed back.
Lilly frowned, "Let me try!" she not so gently pushed Aaron out of the way. Aaron rolled his eyes, but decided to bite his tongue. He hated how bossy Lilly could be sometimes, yet somehow had everyone in town wrapped around her little finger, "Meow," Lilly expressed. But Romeo stayed silent. Lilly tried meowing some more. Again, Romeo stayed mute. Aaron scooted next to his sister and meowed. Romeo meowed back at him. Lilly meowed once more but Romeo stayed quiet, "Why is he not talking back to me? Everyone loves me! And I'm so good at almost everything!"
Aaron shrugged, "I don't know. He's always seemed to like me and Daddy better from the moment we brought them home. I don't know why, he's really quiet and shy most of the time."
Lilly huffed and stood angrily, "Well, I'm going to go see if Mommy and Daddy are letting us keep Juliet's kittens. Maybe they'll like me like they're supposed to." She furiously stomped out of the room.
Aaron took a deep breath to quell his frustration and scratched behind Romeo's ears, to which the feline began to purr in contentment, "Yeah, I know. It takes a lot of patience to deal with her sometimes because she's so overbearing. I don't know how Mommy and Daddy do it." Romeo just meowed in agreement.