Opening Statement: Hello, and welcome to the eleventh chapter of the story [Insert Title Here]. The author hopes you enjoy your time reading this, and would like to thank you for reading it so far.
PFFFT! Sorry about that first greeting there, but yep here we are at Chapter 11, and to take stock; Kendra is on her final week of pregnancy, Todd is still an adorable pup who now has a bit of a crush, Nelson is still supporting his wife through out, and Koslov... well he's Koslov, as stated before.
So, with that out of the way, let's get this chapter started shall we!
Disclaimer: go to Chapter 1... JUST ZOO IT!
Table of Contents: same for this section... NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE, IF YOU JUST... go to Chapter 1... I think Shia LaBouf has had enough time with this joke for it to be dead-
Shia LaBouf: JUST DO IT!
Me: GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! Who let the guy from "Even Stevens" in here?!
Todd was at the kitchen table at this moment, waiting for his breakfast of french toast; Kendra admittedly had a craving for it herself, despite being on her last week of pregnancy.
"Mommy, is the food ready yet?" Todd asked, as Kendra flipped a final slice of toast and sighed, a paw resting on her belly.
"Indeed it is Todd, just give me a minute okay sweetie... your brothers and sisters are restless today-"
Kendra didn't get to finish her statement, as she suddenly felt a sort of popping sensation from inside her body, followed by the sensation of warm wetness running down her legs and pooling somewhat around her feet. Todd seemed to catch on quickly, as he sniffed the air and quickly hopped to the floor, rushing to grab the phone to the shop below; as a precaution after Julie's unexpected delivery a week prior, Nelson had installed a hardline to his shop so that Kendra could let him know if she'd gone into labor at any given point.
"Daddy, I think Mommy's having a baby-"
"Todd? You aren't supposed to be on this line-"
"But Daddy! Mommy just peed on the floor and smells funny-"
"She WHAT! NATHAN WATCH THE SHOP!" Nelson called out, before he hung up the hardline and rushed up to the house, bursting into the room and gently placing the phone in Todd's paws back on its hook and then kissing the pup on the head, "Thanks Todd, you go get dressed okay, this may take a while, Kendra baby I'll help you to the car-"
"Nelson I'm fine, I mean I haven't even felt a single contraction yet- OH SWEET CHEESE AND CRACKERS!" Kendra groaned, glaring down at her stomach and balling a paw into a fist, "You little- OH CRAP THAT HURTS-"
"Alright Kenny, time to go, TODD! You ready to go yet?!" Nelson called out, the pup running out of his room wearing a pair of jeans and a pull over hoodie; Todd may have been young, but he wasn't one to dawdle.
Shortly afterwards, Nelson was carrying his wife out to the car, cutting through the shop to save time and letting Kendra see her sire at the cash register, "YOU HYBRID BUCK BASTARD! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Kendra screamed, Nathan's ears dropping behind his head as he served a customer.
"Don't take it personally Nate, she's just in a lot of pain-"
"FUCK YOU NELSON! YOU BROKEN ANTLERED SON OF A-"
"Mommy! No bad words!" Todd shouted, the hybrid doe about to snap at the coyote pup, but managing to compose herself enough to simply groan in pain; she knew it would hurt to push these kits out, but never really figured on it hurting quite this much.
"Come on Todd, let's get you and Mommy into the car." Nelson said, as he loaded his wife into the vehicle, then helping his son into the back before jumping into the drivers seat and taking off towards the hospital.
(Later at the Hospital)
Nelson waited nervously outside the emergency room; it wasn't that he didn't want to be there for his wife, rather he had to keep an eye on Todd. The deer was completely scared, what if Kendra was in pain? What if she was having trouble pushing out the kits, or even the horrible thought of if they didn't make it. The one thought that scared him the most though was one he didn't want to consider; what would he do if Kendra didn't make it? Nelson felt a tiny paw take hold of his left hoof, glancing down to see Todd trying to provide comfort, "It's okay Daddy... Mommy will be fine-"
Just then, a doctor came out, this one being a red panda with a concerned expression on his face, Nelson mentally pleading to the gods for this to not be what he thought it was.
"Mr. Bucksworth-"
"Yes, that's me doctor, what's wrong-"
"Nothing major... just she's passing a lot of blood... we have Kendra hooked up to blood infusion packs so she remains stable..." the doctor explained, before glancing to the floor and coughing lightly into a closed paw, Nelson growing more concerned with the red panda's silence; this doctor was stalling, and that could only mean one thing, either the kits were in danger, or Kendra wasn't doing so good.
"Doctor, talk to me please! Is my wife going to make it?" Nelson asked, Todd's ears folding back upon hearing those words; the young coyote may not understand exactly what the doctor was saying, but even he could tell it was bad.
The doctor sighed and shook his head before glancing up at Nelson, "I... honestly don't know sir... as I said, she'd stable right now, and the kits are all healthy and being taken care of... but if we can't stop the bleeding then-"
"Is my Mommy going to die?" Todd asked, trying so hard to appear brave, but his tail was tucked between his legs and his paws were shivering, the doctor sighing and rubbing his eyes.
"I don't know... at this point, a miracle could be all that could save her... I'm sorry Mr. Bucksworth, we'll keep trying but... you may have to consider-"
"NO! Kendra will make it! I know she will... I have faith." Nelson said, as the doctor nodded and offered a gentle, though sad smile.
"Then pray... that's all I can tell you... I'm not a spiritual mammal myself, but I'm not about to deny the help of any divine beings that may be up there right now." the doctor replied, before turning and returning to the ER, Nelson turning and pulling Todd into his arms, whispering a prayer to the divines that Kendra would pull through, if not for his sake, or even the sake of their seven kits, then for Todd.
(Meanwhile, with Kendra)
Kendra jolted awake with a gasp, noticing two things as she looked around; one, she no longer felt any pain, outside of a dull ache in her abdomen, and two that her stomach was once again flat. "What the... where am I-"
"You are here child," an airy female voice replied, Kendra turning around and coming face to face with a vixen, one with glowing magenta fur and eyes, and wearing a light grey robe. Kendra yelped and fell to her rear end, the vixen giggling and offering a paw up, "I'm sorry Kendra, I didn't mean to frighten you-"
"How do you-"
"Know your name? Well to put it simply, I'm a Goddess... the name's Karma-"
"And I am Serendipity," another female voice added in, Kendra glancing away from Karma and finding a glowing rabbit with fur that shifted colors randomly, eyes following the same pattern and also wearing a robe, a gentle smile on her face as she approached.
Kendra was confused for a moment, until she started piecing details together; she remembered feeling very tired, then waking up in this seemingly empty void of darkness, the only light being that which emanated from her divine guests. A pit formed in her chest as she came to a single conclusion.
"I-I'm dead..." Kendra said, before she whimpered and dropped to her knees, burying her face into her paws as she openly started to sob; she didn't even get to meet her kits, and she was never going to see the ones she loved, her mom and dad, her sisters, brothers, Nelson, Todd. Kendra cried into her paws until she felt a warm paw onto her shoulder, lifting her head to find Serendipity trying to comfort her.
"Kendra, you aren't dead-"
"Not yet anyway-"
"KARMA! You are NOT helping here-"
"Let me finish! Anyways, what I mean is that you aren't dead yet... unless you give up." Karma explained, Kendra sniffling a bit as she wiped her eyes with her paws.
"What does that mean? I don't want to give up-"
"Exactly... think about your family... your friends-"
"And if your husband doesn't stop praying I'm going to go INSANE!" Karma shouted, stuffing her fingers into her ears and groaning, "Seriously! I may be a divine, but even I have my limits-"
"Don't mind Karma... she isn't accustomed to helping mortals as much as I am-"
"HEY! I helped you get her parents together, didn't I?!" Karma shouted, Kendra's eyes widening at the new info even as Serendipity face-palmed.
"Karma... we aren't supposed to speak of that... especially around mortals." Serendipity groaned, Kendra sighing and grabbing the rabbit divine by her shoulders.
"Alright, back on track, how do I get out of here- OW!" Kendra shouted, grabbing at her stomach and hissing, Karma grinning as she walked over and crouched down to be eye level with the hybrid doe.
"You're already on the right track... that pain you feel right now is because you are still connected to your physical body... you may be taking a brief stroll with us, but so long as you still feel this-" at this point, Karma lightly jabbed at Kendra's stomach, causing her to grunt in pain and slightly crumple, along with earning herself a glare from Serendipity, "- you can return... just focus on the pain, and you will wake up..." Karma's voice started to fade, Kendra glancing to her body and noticing her body; or more accurately her soul slowly starting to fade, with it coming a growing sensation of pain, but also of warmth, air against her fur, of life itself returning.
Kendra looked around the void and smiled to the two divines, "If I pull through this, I am so writing a song about our time together-"
"Oh now that would be interesting, eh Karma?" Serendipity asked, the magenta vixen rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
"Meh, I'm more partial to orchestra music-"
"Karma, I caught you dancing to "Try Everything" the other day-"
"Hey, I'm allowed my indulgences you long eared little fuzzball!" Karma shouted, Kendra laughing before the voices of the divines completely faded out, replaced by the slightly muffled voice of Nelson, the sensation of her paw in his hooves as he sobbed onto her paw, Todd whimpering as he held her other paw.
"I should probably let them know I'm here now..." Kendra thought, focusing on giving both her husband and her son a gentle squeeze, her eyes fluttering open to the sight of Todd and Nelson gazing to her own face, looks of relief clear on them both before Nelson held Kendra's paw tighter, Todd throwing himself onto his mother with his arms wrapped around her, whimpering and sobbing into her shoulder as she used her free paw to pat his back, "Oh, okay Todd... Mommy's here, and you wouldn't believe who I got to meet-"
"Oh, Mrs. Bucksworth! You're alive... that's good, I'd like to say we stabilized the bleeding; it turned out that as one of your kits was coming up they scratched your inner uterine wall, and so we went in and cauterized the wound... you'll be feeling a slight bit of discomfort-"
"You aren't kidding, feels like I had a hot iron in my gut- Todd, you're hurting Mommy." Kendra groaned, the small coyote jumping back slightly and chuckling.
"Anyways... would you like to meet your kits? They're all perfectly healthy and, if I may say so myself, rather cute- it is alright to call you "cute" right? What with you being part fox and-"
"Oh doctor, let's just say that you're lucky I'm in too much pain to really care right now... otherwise I'd be clawing at your face, just ask my husband here," Kendra replied, Nelson chuckling as the doctor nodded and turned to leave.
A few short minutes later, and a zebra pushed a cart with seven small bundles on it, four in blue and three in pink. The nurse then started placing them into Kendra's arms in the order they were born, apparently the order being boy, girl, boy, boy, girl, boy, girl.
They were absolutely adorable, the first buck was black with red ear tips, paws and feet, grey fur on his belly and around his eyes, which were a pretty green, like Nick's eyes, Kendra about to give him a name when Todd sniffed at the kit, tilting his head and smiling, "Mommy, I like Robin here-"
"Robin? I haven't even named him yet-"
"He looks like a Robin... doesn't he Daddy?" Todd asked, his tiny tail wagging as Nelson chuckled and nodded.
"He does... how about it Kenny?" Nelson asked, Kendra pondering it and nodding her head.
"Robin it is then... have any other name ideas there Todd?" Kendra asked, the coyote pup looking to the other six kits and smiling, pointing to the first girl with his paw, she had grey fur with white paws and ear tips, and amber eyes like her sire Nathan.
"Marian-"
"Of course, can't have Robin without Marian-"
"Nelson! Go ahead Todd, that is a lovely name, anything else hon?" Kendra asked, Todd pointing to the second boy of the litter, this one completely white with black ear tips and paws, and violet eyes.
"John... and this one-" Todd then pointed to the third boy, a red furred kit with white belly and ear tips, though black paws, "- is Richard... can I keep going Mommy-"
"Of course, these are wonderful names, go ahead Todd." Kendra replied, Todd smiling and looking to the other three kits, pointing to the second girl in the line up, she had black fur with white paws and grey ear tips, and a lovely pair of amber eyes.
"Her name is Sandra, and this one-" Todd pointed to the fourth boy, his fur an odd calico pattern of black, white, red and grey all over, his eyes a nice shade of lavender, "- is Luke..." Todd explained, as he leaned in towards the runt of the litter, sniffing at her before the tiny doe reached up and patted his nose, her fur was pure white, and she had red eyes, an albino.
Todd smiled at the tiny doe and gently rubbed her between the ears, "This one is named... Elsa-"
"Why "Elsa" son-"
"Because she looks like a snowball, right Mommy-"
"Yeah, she does... you get all that doctor?" Kendra asked, Todd turning around and noticing the doctor jotting down the names, a smile on his face.
"All lovely names... congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Bucksworth, and though you're healthy right now Kendra, I'd like to keep you overnight... just to make sure you're truly okay-"
"Sure thing Doctor... Nelson, take Todd home please, and Todd I'll be here tomorrow, with all your brothers and sisters... and I want a birthday card for them all, okay hon?" Kendra explained, Nelson and Todd nodding before the coyote pup was taken out of the room, the doctor doing some last minute checks on things before he left as well. For a short while, Kendra laid in the bed with her kits, snuggling them all and, as is customary for any new mother, nursing the kits, looking up and smiling.
"Thanks again... my friends..." Kendra said, looking down at her children and smiling.
(In the Void, with Karma and Serendipity)
"Thanks again... my friends..." Kendra's voice echoed, the two divines smiling as they watched from above.
"No problem Kendra... it's what we do." Serendipity said, as Karma rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Yeah, what she said," Karma added, the rabbit goddess elbowing the vixen in the side, though she chuckled playfully while doing so.
"So... she knows we're responsible for her parents being together... how do we explain that to Order and Chaos?" Serendipity asked, Karma sighing before snapping her fingers.
"Kendra only thinks she knows... for all we know, she may not remember everything-"
"Karma, she just thanked us for helping her live, chances are she'll remember you stating we got her parents together-"
"Is it too late to make her die-"
"KARMA-"
"Just kidding... trust me, I don't want her husband praying like that again... I thought my cosmic brain was going to implode!" Karma said, Serendipity rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
"You'd think after centuries of dealing with these things you'd be familiar with prayer-"
"Not like that! He was just praying to ME, normal mortals pray to ALL of us together... must have thought that I'd appeal to her fox half-"
"and that's why I came along when I sensed Kendra arrived here... figured you could use some help." Serendipity explained, Karma blinking before offering a smile of gratitude.
"Thanks... don't know how well I'd have handled the hybrid myself." Karma replied, Serendipity smiling before leaping at the magenta vixen and hugging her tightly.
"ACK! Serendipity! You floppy eared cotton ball-"
"Oh, you love it-"
"NOT WHEN IT NEARLY KILLS ME-"
"Karma, we're immortal-"
"IT'S A FIGURE OF SPEECH!" Karma shouted, Serendipity laughing as the vixen goddess tried with all her might to get the rabbit divine off of her.
(Later that night, Bucksworth home)
"So yeah, they're all safe, Kendra gave us a scare but apparently came back from the dead, which is great so-"
"Daddy! I made a birthday card for my little brothers and sisters!" Todd shouted, running in and jumping into Nelson's lap, the deer laughing and holding the phone up, hitting the speaking button and setting it on the coffee table.
"So Nelson, when are you going to bring Kendra down to Podunk again? I just adore that little pup of yours so much-"
"Hey GramGram! I'm an older brother now! And Mommy died and then came back and-"
"Whoa there Todd, one thing at a time there bud, now you should go get a bath, Koslov didnt run you one for nothing little pup-"
"I got to name them GramGram... Okay Daddy, I'll go take a bath now." Todd said, hopping down and padding to the washroom, Gloria chuckling through the phone as Nelson picked it back up and switched it back to normal mode.
"So, your wife "Died and came back" eh... some would call that divine intervention-"
"I call it Kendra being stubborn- not that I'm not glad she's alive Mom, just you know how stubborn she can be, remember when she and Dad played chess?" Nelson asked, Gloria laughing as she remembered that day; Kendra had lost five times in a row, and refused to leave without winning at least one game, needless to say Henry let Kendra win so they could get to bed.
"Oh my, that little doe is the greatest thing to happen to this family... Nelson, I'm sorry about what happened to you as a fawn-"
"Oh Mom, I'm over that okay... I've forgiven Dad for the whole ordeal, and quite frankly if it hadn't been for that day, I'd never have met my beautiful wife... in a way, I should be thanking Dad-"
"It doesn't make it right what he did... no child deserves a belting for liking predators-"
"Mom, let's just agree to not speak of it again... seriously, I don't want to hear you crying over the phone, okay?" Nelson said, rolling his eyes as he heard Gloria softly sobbing on her end, though he could tell she was getting over it quickly enough.
"Yeah, okay Nelson... I can agree with that, your father doesn't like me bringing it up either, so I can keep it locked up for you too-"
"Oh Mom that's not what I meant I- just think about me and Kendra, she literally scarred me worse than Dad ever did, and I love that little hybrid more than anything else in the world... outside of Todd and my seven new kids that is... so don't feel like you're having to lock it up for my sake... okay Mom?" Nelson asked, Gloria sighing and nodding her head, then remembering she was on the phone.
"Yeah... yeah I can do that... thank you for the chat... and for the clarity Nelson... now I gotta go, Vanessa's cooking show just came on, and I want to take notes. Love you son, and send Todd my love as well. Bye!" Gloria replied, the phone going silent as she had hung up.
"Yep... love you too Ma." Nelson replied, tossing the phone away and going to check on his son in the tub.
(back in the Hospital)
Kendra was flicking through the channels of her hospital TV, sighing as she settled on some old film called "Triassic Land" glancing to her seven bundles and sighing, "Time for bed kids, come on- oh, ow, that hurts!" Kendra grunted, just as a nurse came into the room, rushing over to the hybrid doe.
"Mrs. Bucksworth, you need to stay still, the cauterized area may still be rather sore- if you wish to get some sleep I can move your kits back to the crib-"
"No... I wish to have them with me, I just need help gathering them all here is all... ow." Kendra explained, the nurse nodding and getting the kits all together with their mother, before tucking them in with a smile.
"Good night Mrs. Bucksworth, you and your kits sleep well alright?" the nurse said, blinking when she saw Kendra was slowly drifting off, her seven kits curled up against her body, a smile on Kendra's face as she slept.
(Three years later)
Kendra was sleeping next to Nelson, a smile on her face as she was snuggled against his side. All was peaceful, until a calico hybrid and a coyote slowly peeked over the edge of the bed, glancing to each other and winking.
"GOOD MORNING!" the two shouted, causing Kendra to yelp and leap up onto Nelson's antlers, the deer buck simply sitting up and looking around until he saw Todd and Luke by the bed side, then glancing up to find Kendra clinging to his antlers.
"Guys, how many times have we told you, no scaring your mother awake-"
"But she promised to help with breakfast this morning-"
"What about Koslov-"
"Koswov out." Luke explained, as Kendra sighed and dropped to the bed, stretching and sighing before making her way to the kitchen.
"Okay kids... I'll help you with-"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!" six other small voices shouted, Koslov with them and decorating a cake, Kendra covering her mouth before turning to her son Todd, whom was much taller now, wearing red t-shirt with a pair of pajama pants with his mother's popstar likeness on them; to say he was proud of his mother being a singer was an understatement.
"You threw me a surprise party? Aww that's so sweet... how about we hear a nice loud howl, get Daddy up proper." Kendra said, gesturing for her kits to cover their ears before Todd started his howl, the sound bringing Nelson out of his room to playfully hold his son's mouth shut.
"Okay Todd, I'm turning the alarm off." Nelson said, releasing and allowing his son the laugh, the other kits all giggling before gathering onto the couch for their breakfast, each having two slices of toast and a glass of chocolate milk, except for Elsa; apparently along with being albino she was also lactose intolerant, so she had chocolate flavored almond milk with her breakfast.
After breakfast, Kendra cut her cake and served a piece to her kits, to her pup, then to Nelson and Koslov; the bear now their live in nanny of sorts, and on Kendra's payroll despite his saying otherwise.
"Thanks kids... this really means a lot to me-"
"We love you so much Mommy... we just wanted you to be happy." Robin explained, Kendra smiling and ruffling his ears a bit.
"Well, I'm glad you did... but I'm happy every day I get to spend with you, and your brothers and sisters, your Daddy, and with Koslov... I love all of you so much." Kendra explained, Nelson smiling and leaning in to kiss his wife, all eight kids covering their eyes with their paws.
"EWWW!" they all said, Nelson chuckling along with Kendra before they took their cake to the living room, turning on the TV and setting up to play the film "Robin Hood" for the family, Kendra seated next to Nelson, the kits and Todd gathered around their mother while Koslov sat himself in his chair.
And we have reached the end of this tale... what, you were expecting more? Well I'm sorry to say you'll have to wait... for the SEQUEL! BOOM! I just blew your minds away!
Now, to clarify the sequel will cover a few topics, the kits going to school, Todd finding love, Kendra's relationship with Julie- you know what, I'm gonna stop there, don''t want to give too much away... anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story, I'm TimberWolf, Alpha of the pack, and I'll see you in the next story, PEACE AROOOOOOOOO!
