A/N: I wrote a reference to something Tugger did, and then realized it was from someone's experience seeing it at West End. When Etcetera screamed, he stuck his tail in her mouth to make her be quiet, instead of just putting his paw over her mouth. Just thought I would point that out.

Chapter 14 – Whiskers on Kittens

Bombalurina ignored the excited whispers of the cats in the morning. She did her best to try and be thrilled by the news, but she couldn't muster up even a fake smile. Others asked what the matter with her was; after all, she was a new aunt. She should be more excited. Other's held it up to the fact that she came home late the night before. Maybe she hadn't let the news hit her yet.

The Rum Tum Tugger watched her as she passed him. "Hey, listen, Bomb, I…" Bombalurina put up a paw to silence him, and kept walking past him, eyes forward, her lips thin. "Come on, Bomba…"

"I have to go see my insane sister," she said. "You know how it is. Family obligations and all."

But instead, she had to linger nearby the den, watching as several cats were driven out. She heard the low growling if they tried to come back in. And she reveled in the annoyed look on Munkustrap's face.

"Trouble?" she asked when Munkustrap sulked on by.

"Her instincts kicked in," said the silver tabby over his shoulder as he continued walking. "And she doesn't want anyone near the kittens."

"How sad for you," Bombalurina muttered under her breath, smiling wickedly as the tom sulked.

She was beginning to loathe that tabby.

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Demeter looked down at the squirming little kittens next to her. She had fallen asleep for a while. Or, at least, what she could call sleep. Any little movement woke her up. Their tiny little mewlings made her smother them with attention, licking them all over and purring softly.

She smiled at the tiny kitten who tried squirming up to her face. Demeter licked the kitten gently, before looking at it closely. It was impossible; to care for something so much that she just met! Frankly, she didn't understand. By all means, she should care less for the creature in front of her, or at least feel sad to look at it…

Demeter poked the tiny kitten with her digit. It flipped over, then mewed in dismay. Demeter quickly flipped it back over, and brought it close in apology, purring to it and nuzzling it. It was possible to love something so much so quickly.

As the kittens drank their milk, the queen dutifully cleaned them off. The kittens eyes were close, as were their ears, so their world consisted only of their mother's warmth.

Three kittens, and all of them looked so different.

The first born, already the most active, if that was possible with only her ability to squirm around, was a grey and white kitten. White muzzle, bib, and paws, she was grey everywhere else, with tabby markings, a darker grey, but not as dark as her father's markings. A female, Chanterelle.

The second born, a blonde and white kitten, with white limbs, underbelly, and face. His ears were blonde, as well as his back and tail. There were tabby markings there as well, but so faint, Demeter had to look closely to tell. A male, Porthos.

The third born, an oddball, as well as the runt, with brown coloring and black tabby stripes. The underbelly was a cream color, and his paws black, as well as very dark pads on his feet. A male, Raine.

They were all beginning to mew, and Demeter's heart melted as they squirmed about. She didn't want them to cry! So she nuzzled them and tried her best to get them to stop.

"Ahem." Munkustrap peeked in, smiling proudly. "Now may I come in?" Demeter looked to the tom in shock, before covering the kittens with her tail. She growled lowly to the tom, reminiscent of when she had kicked everyone out of the den earlier. In her opinion, Jennyanydots had come too close, and something in her suddenly became very protective of her litter.

But upon the disappointed look on Munkustrap's face, she gave way to her exhaustion and let her head fall on the bed. She then moved her tail so the silver tabby could see his progeny. When he smiled again, she was glad. She was tired of hurting him…

Cautiously, Munkustrap crept in, looking down to his kittens. He looked to Demeter to make sure she was okay. The silver tabby nuzzled her on the cheek, before carefully picking up Chanterelle. She mewed in confusion, calling for her mother to help her. Demeter sat up, unsure of what to do.

Munkustrap began to purr to the tiny kitten, and the mewling became less. He held her close. "Hello, little one," he said softly, licking her on the head, making her fur stand on end. "She kinda looks like me," he said proudly.

"They all have stripes like you," Demeter said wearily. "You had to be a tabby. One female, and she looks nothing like her mother!"

"You sound jealous," Munkustrap marveled. He carefully took Porthos up and brought him close, then Raine, leaving Demeter feeling very lonely. She whimpered, just once, at the loss of the kitten's warmth. Then she told herself to be grateful for a break. But that was hardly calming. It was all she could do to try and stop herself from crawling over to her kittens and taking them back. But she was so tired. And Munkustrap seemed to see what she was doing, and stopped her by covering her with a blanket. "You should rest, Dem."

"I could rest fine with them," Demeter countered. She reached out to take her kittens back.

"I won't let anything happen to them," Munkustrap promised, leaning over and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "You've done enough. Let me do something now." He looked down to his kittens and smiled warmly. "Protecting is what I do best." Demeter could hardly protest her own mate wanting to spend time with his kittens. But she felt bonded with them already, and yearned to keep them close to her. Munkustrap, however, was otherwise oblivious to the queen's stress at the moment.

"Hello, my little ones," he said softly, purring to the kittens. "Welcome to the world. I'll be your father for your stay here. On your left, you'll see your mother, Demeter. Don't worry, she doesn't always look that tired." The queen scowled at Munkustrap, but he continued in his soft, proud voice. "It's a cold, chilly night, at about 12 degrees Celcius, so remember to stay close to one another or your mother or father…"

"Everlasting Cat, Munku," Demeter sighed. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

"Shh, I'm not done," he smirked. "So, once again, we'd like to welcome you home. We hope you have a nice stay."

Demeter began to drift off to sleep, but she refused to give in while her kittens were away from her. They began to mew again as they pressed up against Munkustrap's fur. "Hmm? What's that? You're hungry?" Demeter was thankful she would get her kittens back.

One by one, the silver tabby picked up the kittens, kissed them on the head, and hugged them close, in a way Demeter had never seen her mate express emotion before. She watched in awe as the tabby placed each kitten gingerly down next to their mother, looking sad to part from them. He covered them with a blanket so they couldn't get cold, then came up close to Demeter. The gold queen looked up to him. "Munkustrap, I…"

"Should get some sleep?" he asked. He began fussing over the blanket covering her and the kittens. "You spent a lot of energy trying to protect them. Not that I'm upset…because I thought it was good to see you so passionate about them. I had to admit, I was a little worried about how you would react when the kittens were born, but now, I-" He was cut off when Demeter leaned up and kissed him on the lips. Caught off guard, it took a few moments for the tabby to melt into the kiss as well.

They only pulled away when they heard one of the kittens make a fuss, and both looked to make sure he was okay. Then Munkustrap smiled to Demeter. "I love you, too."

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For the next few days, wherever Munkustrap went in the junkyard, others praised him, or patted him on the back. There were new kittens in the world, and though they hadn't seen them yet, they were assured that they were the cutest things on earth. Many couldn't wait until they were old enough, or for the chance to see them, as Demeter wasn't letting anyone in their den, not even to check if they were okay. She was barely leaving the den herself. She would have all but disappeared if it weren't for Munkustrap bringing her food and water and keeping her comfy as she protectively watched over her kittens. A little too protectively, but Munkustrap held it up to her past.

There was, however, sadness to the celebration. The one thing everyone ended up saying was how they wished Mistoffelees was there to see the kittens. He loved kittens so much. That made the mystery all the more confusing. Why would he up and leave when one of his friends was just having kittens?

Munkustrap left to tell Old Deuteronomy the news of his grand kittens. The old cat frequented the junkyard less and less these days, so Munkustrap thought it was a good chance to check on his health, as well.

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Munkustrap came back later that day. He smiled to his kittens, who were doing what kittens do best: being cute. He nuzzled each one of them, and then looked up to Demeter, who looked away. "What's the matter?"

"You were gone all day," she said mournfully.

"I know, I told you…I had to go see Old Deuteronomy."

"What did he say?" she asked, ears perked up in interest.

"That he was glad that the kittens were healthy and we were all doing well," he announced as her nudged Chanterelle in an effort to make her more comfortable. "And that he hopes that we are a happy family. You know, best wishes and all."

"You don't seem too happy with that," Demeter noted.

"Well…I thought he would be more excited. Instead, he looked…worried. I don't know why, though. Did he think I wouldn't take good care of my kittens?"

"He probably thought I was going to be a bad mother," Demeter pointed out.

"He wouldn't think that, Dem," he frowned. "He's really fond of you, you know that!"

Demeter sighed. "Munkustrap…I'm really thirsty."

Munkustrap stared. "You mean to say you've been in here all day, thirsty, because I haven't been back?" Demeter looked off to the side. Munkustrap sighed. "Dem, you have to take care of yourself, too. The others here will watch the kittens just fine if you leave for a second! This isn't good for you, you know." He started to pull Demeter up, but she became dead weight. "Come on, Dem! You're being so kittenish! Nothing will happen! I'll take care of my kittens, you take care of yourself."

"Can't you get water for me?" Munkustrap gave her a look. "I don't want to leave them, Munku. I want to stay with them! Please don't make me leave."

"They'll be fine," he grunted the last word as he tried to pull Demeter up again. "Demeter! You need to take care of yourself. Go out, get some fresh air! The kittens are counting on you to be healthy. They'll open their eyes any day now, and you don't want to look like your dying, now do you?"

"Munkustrap!" she said as she forcefully pulled away, nearly making the silver tom fall onto the queen and her litter. "They need me to keep their body temperatures up! They're so cold if they're away from me."

"Hmm," Munkustrap said with a droll look on his face. "Yes, I see how that can be a problem, seeing as how you're the only cat who has the ability to produce body heat."

"Don't be sarcastic," Demeter frowned. "And what if they're hungry, and I'm not here? Hmm? Have no answer to that? Or can you miraculously produce milk, now?"

"You won't be able to either, if you don't eat and drink right." Demeter cursed his quick thinking on that matter. She cuddled close to her kittens, licking Raine all over, trying to ignore Munkustrap's piercing gaze. Finally, she sighed.

"You have to keep them close," she said warningly. "It's been cold lately…And they're a little sleepy right now, so they shouldn't be giving you too much trouble. But if they do, just…um…I don't know, groom them until I come back. And don't forget to purr to them to let them know you're not going to hurt them. They might not recognize your scent. And tell me if any of them start sneezing. I think Chanterelle has a cold or something, and I've been a little worried. And--"

"Dem!" Munkustrap put his tail in her mouth to make her be quiet. "The world won't collapse if I take care of them. Don't worry."

Demeter spit the tail out. "You've been hanging around Tugger too much." She then moved as gently as she could, not to disturb the tiny little kittens, and letting Munkustrap take her place, bringing the kittens close to him. On Demeter's prompting, he purred to the kittens as he licked little Porthos all over. He was beginning to fuss. (The kitten, not the tom.)

"Not too much," Demeter said. At the look from her mate, she put up her paws in defeat and reluctantly left to get herself some water and fresh air.

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Bombalurina looked in on the den and was surprised to see Demeter was gone. She had been waiting for a chance to see the kittens, but didn't feel like dealing with her sister's wrath. She knocked lightly on the entrance way, getting Munkustrap's attention.

"Strappy-kins?" she purred, forcing a smile on her face. "How's the new father?"

"Heh," he brought his attention back to the kittens, one of which had crawled his way up to his arms, and was now nestled in a hug. "Demeter would have convulsions if she saw someone else in here."

Bombalurina twitched her ear. "I just wanted to see my nieces or nephews," she said more scathingly than she had meant to. No one really knew if they were males or females. Just that there were three of them.

"I guess it can't hurt," he said, getting up gently. "Demeter needed to get out of the den for a bit. She's barely left since the kittens were born."

"What are their names?" she asked, crawling close and lifting up a blanket where one had hidden itself. She picked up the brown tabby carefully.

"Uh, Bomba," Munkustrap said, mirroring Demeter's nerves. "Maybe you shouldn't hold him."

"He's a little odd ball," Bombalurina said, holding the kitten close, who began mewing in distress, causing Munkustrap to shift nervously in his place. "I wonder if he got that from our dad. Give me an insight to what kind of cat he was, at least in looks alone." Then she laughed at the irony. "Figures he would go and be something as common as a brown tabby."

"Bomba," Munkustrap said warningly. "Please put Raine down. He doesn't know what's going on."

"Raine," Bombalurina marveled. "Who picked that name, you or Dem? I'm pretty sure it was you. Dem has a fondness for the weird names. Like yours."

"Please, Bomba, just give him back to me," a hint of panic began to ring in his voice.

"Why is he crying?" Bombalurina pouted. "Is he hungry or something?"

"He's scared," Munkustrap said, now sitting with the kittens hidden away in between his paws, and reaching a paw out for the third. "He doesn't know you."

"Well," Bombalurina shrugged. "He should probably get to know me." Both cats turned at the sound of growling behind the red queen. Before Bombalurina could react, there was a sharp pain across her face, and a flash of gold in front of her. Demeter had taken the kitten back and was now sitting on her haunches, glaring at her sister. "Dem…"

"Get out of here," hissed the queen in an unrecognizable voice. "Now." The red queen looked over to Munkustrap, who looked just as shocked. "Go." Munkustrap nodded to the red queen, telling her it was probably in her best interest. So the red queen slowly turned and left the small family. After walking safely away from the den, she put a paw to her cheek, and realized her sister had scratched her.

Bombalurina let out a small whimper, before falling silent and walking to her den.

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"I told you to watch them," Demeter yelled to the silver tabby, after taking the kitten back to her and covering them in a blanket. "That means keeping them safe from everyone!"

"Dem, that was uncalled for," Munkustrap yelled back. "She's your sister!"

"If it was up to her," Demeter snapped, "You would never have seen your kittens!"

"What?' Munkustrap asked. "Dem, I think you're dehydrated, you don't know what you're saying."

"All of them out there, Munkustrap," Demeter said, looking towards the entrance of their den. "All of them are trying to pull us apart! Our family! Before it even began! Is it too much to ask that I have my family with me, even for just this little while? Can't I be selfish?"

"Not at the rate of hurting your sister, Dem. She's your family, too! And what do you mean if it was for her, I wouldn't have seen my kittens."

"Nothing!" Demeter threw up her paws in defeat. "Absolutely nothing. Munku, listen to me! I know I must seem absolutely crazy to you lately, but I have my reasons! I know, I know, you're going to say that I should tell you. But I'm going to tell you, instead, to trust me. Just you and me and the kittens, and we'll be fine! Alright? At least, for now. Just for now. Until I know they're going to be okay! Until I know what I'm going to do! I'm tired of fighting with you."

"We only fight because I don't understand where you're coming from!" Munkustrap said louder than he meant to.

"Just accept it, please, for my sake!"

Munkustrap groaned in frustration. "You're never going to make sense to me, are you?" he said helplessly, almost pleadingly. He sat and looked at his mate, the queen he fell in love with, and saw her, for one moment, differently. He used to see a broken queen that he had been trying to fix. Now he was beginning to wonder if she wasn't all there to begin with. If she was, in fact, crazy, and only appeared normal because he looked at her through the eyes of someone in love.

He hoped the sudden fear didn't show on his face, as he turned away, pretending he was considering what she said. "For now," he said, choosing his words carefully. "For now, it'll just be you and me and the kittens. Until they're a few weeks old. And we'll introduce them to the tribe. Is that alright?"

"Yes…" Demeter said, amazed.

"Have you gotten enough to drink? Enough air?" he asked, looking out the entrance of the den.

"Yes." She said, now seemingly confused.

Munkustrap forced on a smile and looked to the queen. "Good. Now, I've been out all day, and I haven't had a chance to eat, so I'm going to hunt. Are you going to be okay by yourself for a while?" Demeter nodded. "Okay. I'll be back later." Mechanically, he made sure that she and the kittens were covered well, and kissed Demeter on the forehead, before nuzzling the kittens and walking out into the night.

The silver tabby felt he was seeing the entire junkyard in a new light. He had grown up here, been here all his life, and suddenly everything seemed so foreign. Things were different, though nothing had really changed. Yet, everything had changed.

He had made the decision. He had to keep Demeter calm, and make sure she was happy. Everything had to seem normal. And he would have to be constantly checking in on her and the kittens, to make sure they were okay. That Demeter hadn't harmed them in any way.

That wasn't to say he thought she would harm the kittens. But he came to the realization that he knew nothing about his mate. Absolutely nothing. And he was utterly terrified for his kittens. They needed their mother, but he wasn't sure how safe they were with her. So he had to find out. Demeter had an entire past he knew nothing about. And it was time he knew it.

Munkustrap followed the sound of the music box to Victoria's den. He knocked to come in, and Victoria barely noticed him, waving him in with her tail. Or he assumed it was an invite. Either way, he came in. "Victoria? How are you doing?"

The white queen sat up, forcing herself back to reality, and looking to the silver tabby. "I'm okay, Munkustrap…" she whispered.

"Victoria…I need to talk to you," he said, looking behind him to make sure no one was nearby, listening, and then scooted close to the white queen. "Mistoffelees' leaving is hard for all of us," he began gently, hoping not to lose the queen's attention.

"You've found something out?" she asked. Munkustrap's heart wrenched at the hopeful sound in her voice.

"I don't know," he said, looking away from the crestfallen look on her face. "But I need to know something, Victoria. Something I'm hoping you know. See, Mistoffelees was friends with a lot of cats, even the ones who were otherwise loners. And I'm assuming you know a lot of what Mistoffelees knows."

"I…suppose so," Victoria said.

"I need to know…where do Coricopat and Tantomile live?"

A/N: Semester is almost over! Finals are killer...