Hey. Here is the next chapter of Strictly Bilbo. I'm sorry for the long wait. And I'd like to thank all my reviewers for reviewing. So here goes. Thank you blueskydog and Chrysothemis Bird for your reviews and ideas. So without further ado the next chapter. In this chapter Mittens gets lost and Bilbo worries about him. They also learn that Mittens isn't a him but a her.
Belladonna walked into her son's room to find him still in bed. Bilbo was usually up and about by now. So this was actually quite strange for her son. Belladonna walked over to the bed and shook Bilbo awake.
"Bilbo honey," she said, "it's time to wake up now."
Bilbo woke up with a jerk. He looked out his window to find the sun was high in the sky. It then hit him Mittens hadn't woken him up today.
"What time is it?" asked Bilbo.
"Almost time for second breakfast," said Belladonna. "Hurry on and get dressed deary. I'll put together an extra-large plate for you since you missed breakfast."
Bilbo hurriedly got dressed. Maybe Mittens would come to the breakfast table with him. He always enjoyed eating table scraps that Bilbo gave him. He walked down to the kitchen and sat at the table. He was slightly worried when Mittens didn't come running with him.
Maybe Mittens had already had his fill of breakfast, when it was breakfast time. But surely Mittens would come out and play with him after second breakfast.
Bilbo quickly ate his breakfast. He looked around and got a little discouraged when Mittens didn't come running to see him.
"Mama," said Bilbo slowly, "have you seen Mittens?"
Belladonna looked over at her son with a bewildered expression on her face.
"Isn't Mittens usually in your room, my dear?" she asked Bilbo.
"Yeah. He usually wakes me up. But for some reason today he didn't wake me up." Bilbo looked around not wanting his father to know he was afraid. "I'm afraid something bad has happened to him. I don't want anyone to think I'm a bad cat parent."
"You aren't a bad cat parent," said Belladonna hugging her son. "He has probably gone off hunting for a mouse or something and will return later. Why don't you help me with some of the chores?"
Bilbo nodded glumly. But even while he was helping his mother he couldn't keep his mind from going to the worst where Mittens was concerned. His concern grew even more when Mittens didn't come running when Bilbo put the food bowl down for him. It wasn't like Mittens to miss a meal. He sat down at the table pushing his food around.
"Bilbo, my love," said his mother, "are you not hungry?"
"I am," said Bilbo worriedly. "But I'm concerned about Mittens. I just put his food down and he didn't come running. I haven't seen him all day."
Belladonna and her husband shared a look before Belladonna took her son's hand.
"Come with me Bilbo," she said. "I have something I'd like to show you."
Belladonna lead Bilbo out to the shed behind the house. She entered and lead him over to a small corner under a work table.
What Bilbo saw under the work table shocked him greatly. There was Mittens laying with about seven kittens next to "him". Bilbo looked up at his mother in surprise.
"I found her when I came in here to get the potting soil," Belladonna explained to her son. "It would turn out that Mittens isn't a him like we thought he was but a she."
Bilbo gently knelt next to Mittens and tried to reach in.
"Not yet Bilbo," said his mother. "Let her get used to having them around and then you can touch them. If she lets you."
Bilbo nodded with a smile. After they got back inside he ate his dinner and then quickly dashed off to write his cousin a letter and tell him that he was cat grandparent now.
That is the end of that chapter. I hope you all enjoyed. Maybe next chapter I'll put in some Mittens, kittens, and Bilbo interaction. Please let me know what you think.
